


Défenseure

by angelofthequeers



Series: Miraculous Swap AUs [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Redemption, Adrien salt, Akumatized Alya Césaire, Alya Césaire Is The Best, Angst, Bamf Alya, Because I'm sick of the show pitting all the girls against each other, Bee Alya, Black Cat Kagami, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, DJWiFi fluff in chapter 7, Don't copy to another site, Dragon Adrien, Fox Chloé, Gen, Girl Solidarity, Good Chloé Bourgeois, Hurt/Comfort, I am not salter anymore, I am reborn sugar babie, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Lesbian Chloé Bourgeois, No one messes with Mari on Alya's watch, POV Alya Césaire, POV Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Post Oni-Chan, Romance, Salt, Season/Series 03, ml salt, not that I'm proud of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-08-19 14:10:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20211067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelofthequeers/pseuds/angelofthequeers
Summary: Who would've thought that one forgotten textbook would be the catalyst to start unravelling Lila's lies and bringing Marinette and Chloé, of all people, together? Lila is so going down, especially after getting Alya akumatised like the lying snake she is.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> Massive shout-out to my friendos in the salt Discord, whose sheer saltiness kept me going.

“Dammit!”

“Alya?”

“I left my textbook back in class,” Alya says when her third search of her bag proves fruitless. “You go on.”

“You sure?” Nino says. “I don’t mind coming with you, babe.”

Not for the first time, Alya finds herself smiling at the way her boyfriend jumps to offer his help. It’s one of the things she loves so much about him, and it’s one of the things that makes him a fantastic Carapace. Even if that did work against them in the Heroes’ Day fight…

“I think I can grab a book by myself,” Alya teases. “Besides, you can’t keep Lila waiting. You know how she hates being abandoned ever since her friend in Brazil left her in the middle of the Amazon.”

“True.” Nino leans down to peck Alya on the lips. “See you there, babe.”

With a wave over her shoulder, Alya turns the corner into their classroom’s corridor…and promptly crashes into an unpleasantly familiar yellow figure.

“Hey, watch it!” Chloé Bourgeois snaps. “This cashmere jacket is worth more than your entire house!”

“Uh huh,” Alya deadpans. “Whatever. Move so I can grab my book.”

Chloé moves, sure, but not in the way Alya wants. Instead, she grabs Alya by the upper arm and yanks her so that their backs are to the wall, allowing them to slide up to their classroom door.

“What the hell are you doing?” Alya hisses.

“Shush!” Chloé slaps a hand over Alya’s mouth. “Adrikins is in there with Dupain-Cheng and I want to know what they’re up to!”

“You’re really that desperate to get a life?” Alya tries to say, but the hand over her mouth muffles her speech. With a smirk, she licks it, and Chloé lets out a quiet shriek and immediately starts rubbing her slick hand on her white pants.

“…don’t know why you’re still sticking up for Lila!” Marinette’s saying. “She broke into your home! She got Kagami akumatised!”

Oh, Marinette. That girl still believes Lila’s a liar? Seriously, she needs to get over herself and stop being so jealous over Adrien. Alya’s expecting Adrien to tell Marinette off – and he does, but not for the reason she thinks.

“Outing her won’t do anything, Marinette,” Adrien says. “You know that. If we humiliate her, she’ll be akumatised again!”

“So what?”

There’s a quiet gasp from Adrien. “Do you really not care if she’s targeted by Hawkmoth?”

“Adrien, we can’t keep living in fear of her getting akumatised! We’re giving her the power by doing that!”

“She’s not hurting anyone –”

“She’s hurting me.” Marinette’s voice is so soft that a shell-shocked Alya has to lean in closer to hear her, forgetting that she’s currently eavesdropping with _Chloé_. “I nearly got akumatised the day she came back to school.”

“But you weren’t! You’re strong, Marinette. You can –”

“I can what?” Marinette gives a harsh laugh. “Be strong for everyone? Put myself between them and Lila to protect both sides?”

“Yes! You’re our everyday Ladybug!”

“Oh. I see.” There’s the sound of footsteps, and Alya and Chloé tense, but it sounds like one of the two in the room is just crossing over to sit on a desk or something. “I didn’t realise that I was expected to sacrifice myself for everyone.”

“Marinette, you know that’s –”

“– not what you meant? Save it, Adrien. I thought we were supposed to be in this together.”

“We are!”

“Yeah? Really? Then why am I the one copping the brunt of it? Why haven’t you done _anything_ to support me since Lila became Chameleon?”

“Don’t you dare –”

“No, don’t _you_ dare! I’m the only one you ever seem to stand up to! Chloé bullied us for years, but _I’m_ in the wrong for being happy that she was leaving! Lila’s lying to all our friends – _your_ friends, not just mine – and hurting people everywhere she goes, but because it’s not affecting you, who cares, right? Do you even care that Kagami got akumatised because Lila _broke into your home_ and posted that picture _lying_ about being your girlfriend?”

“You’re being really mean –”

“No! I’m snapping, Adrien! I can’t stand by and watch her mess with my friends because I’m the only one willing to call out her lies! I thought you had my back, but all you’ve done is do _nothing_! You haven’t even been collecting evidence or anything to justify sitting back and waiting! How the heck is she supposed to get caught in her lies when we don’t have _any proof_? You’ve seen how everyone believed that Max’s eye could get cut with a napkin!”

“But her lies aren’t hurting them! They might be upset when she’s outed, but no one’s actually being hurt!”

“_I’m being hurt_!” The thump sounds like Marinette stomping her foot. “She threatened me in the bathroom, Adrien!”

“She _what_?” Alya hisses. Her brain, still trying to reboot from the revelation that Marinette’s right and _Lila has been lying to them_, immediately sparks back to life from learning that someone had threatened her best friend.

“Shh!” Chloé says.

“Oh, but I’m not anyone, am I? I wasn’t akumatised, so I have to be the strong girl and put up with it to keep the peace. And if I _am_ akumatised then I’m just being overdramatic. Who cares if _I’m_ hurt, so long as everyone else is fine? I told you, Adrien, it feels like I’m nothing to you. The _universe_ humiliates me every time I try to – never mind.”

“Try to what?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve just finally had my eyes opened. Thanks for helping me see reason.”

“Huh?”

But Marinette doesn’t respond. Alya jumps when footsteps start to approach the door, and it’s Chloé who thankfully recovers quickly enough to drag her past the door and a little way down the corridor so that Marinette hopefully doesn’t see them. Thank god Marinette heads towards the courtyard instead of in their direction, so she doesn’t see them.

“Are you shitting me?” Alya says. “Lila _was_ lying – Mari was right – and Adrien’s done nothing?”

Chloé rolls her eyes. Before Alya can do anything, Chloé’s elbowing the classroom door open and storming inside.

“Adrien!” she barks. Alya slips inside just in time to see Adrien jump.

“Chloé! Alya! What –”

“Oh, cut the bullshit.” Chloé jabs Adrien’s chest with her finger. “We heard everything.”

“You knew Lila was lying,” Alya growls. “You’ve known all this time. And you said nothing!”

“Alya –”

“You let me believe all of Lila’s stories! Didn’t you care that she was trying to drive a wedge between me and my best friend?”

“And I bet she was lying about being Ladybug’s best friend too.” Chloé crosses her arms. “Like Ladybug would want to associate with someone like _her_. Not hurting anyone, my ass. She let me _humiliate_ myself with some stupid Ladybug dance!”

Now that’s a story Alya will have to get someday. But not today. “Do you know what this could do for my blog? I’ve poured my heart and soul into the Ladyblog, and you were just gonna let me ruin it by believing some _liar_! Oh, but that wouldn’t have hurt me, right?”

“Please!” Adrien’s green eyes crinkle. Any other time and Alya would be out hunting for whoever hurt Adrien…except that this time, he doesn’t deserve that protection. “I don’t want to fight –”

“And that’s your damn problem!” Chloé snarls. “Me, Césaire, Lahiffe, Tsurugi, Dupain-Cheng…we’ve _all_ been hurt by this lying bitch. Especially Dupain-Cheng. Or did you miss the part about Rossi threatening her?”

“I didn’t know about that! Marinette didn’t tell me!”

Alya snorts darkly. “Like that matters,” she says. “The minute you knew Lila was lying, you should have told us! Your friends! And now _I_ have to sit there and hold my best friend and help fix her broken heart when it didn’t have to be broken in the first place!”

“Huh? Broken heart?” Adrien blinks.

“Ugh, and I have to sit and hold Dupain-Cheng’s hand as well,” Chloé says. “Thanks, Adrien, for making me have to show girl solidarity.”

“Since when do you do girl solidarity?” Alya says. “Especially with Marinette?”

Chloé’s face twists. “Ever since I was Queen Bee, I’ve…wanted to start being…_nicer_. A _better_ person. To prove that Ladybug wasn’t wrong to trust me. Okay? You happy now?”

“Uh…I’m not judging you,” Alya says slowly. “I think Ladybug makes us all want to be better. And hey, I’m not gonna complain if she gets through to _you_.”

It’s barely there, but there’s the faintest hint of a soft smile on Chloé’s face. Or maybe Alya imagined it.

“You guys –”

Chloé cuts Adrien off with a hand. “I know you’ve grown up not standing up for yourself, so you’re not drawn into the middle of things,” she says. “But for god’s sake, Adrien, you have to grow a spine _sometime_ if you really wanna join the real world.”

Adrien flinches and takes a step back as if he’d been struck. “How could you say that, Chlo? I can’t – if I speak up, Lila could treat –” He breaks off, but Alya knows too well what he’d been about to say.

“She could treat you like Marinette?” Her voice is soft but full of barely-contained rage. “You really did throw Marinette to the wolves, just to avoid conflict. You should have done _something_ to show her you were on your side!”

“Like what?”

“Like finding proof! Compiling evidence! Convincing me and Nino! Something to show Marinette that even if you weren’t as brave as her, you still had her back!”

“Right, like you can talk!” It seems that Adrien has finally reached his breaking point. “You’re the one who called Marinette jealous and started picking Lila over her!”

“No! You don’t get to go there like they’re anywhere near the same!” Alya jabs a finger at Adrien. “_I_ didn’t know that Lila was lying! _You_ did! And I’m not saying I’m innocent in this, but if I’d known that Lila was picking on my best friend, I would’ve taken her on for Mari in a _heartbeat_!”

“Alright, both of you, shut the fuck up,” Chloé says when Adrien swells. “We’re getting nowhere. Adrien, shut up and use your _brain_. Césaire, you’re coming with me to find Dupain-Cheng before you slap Adrien.”

“I’m not gonna slap him!” Alya protests. Chloé raises a perfectly made-over eyebrow.

“Your hand’s twitching. Look, Dupain-Cheng needs you more right now. You can tell Adrien off more later.”

“You’re the one person I thought would be on my side, Chlo.” Adrien puts on the Look of Disappointment. Thankfully, Chloé seems to be immune to it.

“Like you were on my side when I was leaving for New York?” she snaps. “Oh, you could lecture Dupain-Cheng, but it’s not like you actually did anything to support me or try and stop me from leaving. How’s the high moral ground, _Adrikins_?”

Adrien reels back as though he’s been slapped. Alya tries not to pinch herself, because since when does Chloé scold her precious Adrikins?

“Césaire, that wasn’t an invitation for you to stick around,” Chloé says. “Go and find Dupain-Cheng. I need to have a talk with my friend alone.”

Marinette! That’s right! Alya could kick herself for forgetting about her best friend in her determination to tear Adrien a new one. But first, it’s time to suck it up and do something that she never thought she’d do.

“Thanks, Chloé,” Alya forces herself to say. “Ladybug would be proud of you.” The way Chloé’s eyes light up inform Alya that, as painful as that had been, it had been the right thing to say.

“Just get out of here, Cé – Alya. I have to make my _best friend_ apologise to Dupain-Cheng.”

Alya scrambles out of the room and towards the courtyard, praying that Marinette doesn’t run into Lila because after what had just happened with Adrien, she’s not sure how her best friend would cope. Unfortunately, her prayers aren’t answered.

“What the heck, Marinette?” Kim’s saying when Alya emerges into the courtyard to find her classmates facing Marinette, with a crying Lila between them like they’re protecting her. “You just pushed Lila!”

“What?” Marinette says. “Why would I push her?”

“We all know of your dislike for Lila,” Max says. “There’s a seventy-seven-point-six chance that you did push her just now.”

“G-Guys, it’s okay,” Lila sniffles. Dear god, how did Alya never see how _fake_ that girl’s crying is before? There aren’t even any tears! “I know that Marinette doesn’t like me, although I don’t know what I could’ve done…”

“She’s just jealous because Lila’s into Adrien,” Alix says. Now, Marinette’s crush being outed might not have been so bad normally – embarrassing, sure, but not life-crushing – if not for the fact that Adrien and Chloé had just entered the courtyard behind Alya, signalled by the sound of two sets of footsteps. And judging by the gleam in Lila’s eyes, which Alya’s kicking herself for never noticing before, the snake knows exactly what to do.

“Alix!” Lila gasps before Alya can stop her. “I appreciate you standing up for me, but I didn’t want you to say that in front of Adrien! Marinette’s his friend and we wouldn’t want to make him uncomfortable!”

Marinette’s face whitens to the colour of chalk when she turns and sees Adrien staring at her with wide eyes. Alya’s trying to speak up, to tell everyone that Lila’s a _liar_ and they need to lay off Marinette, the girl trying to protect them, but Adrien gets in before she can.

“Is that true, Marinette?” he says.

“I – I –” Marinette turns frantically, staring around at the sea of unfriendly faces. Alya’s in motion before her brain even reboots.

“Marinette’s right!” Alya rushes over to Marinette and pushes her best friend behind him. “Lila’s a liar!”

Lila gasps. “Alya! I thought we were friends! How could you say that?”

Alya looks Lila right in the eye. Lila’s green eyes are glossy, but there’s something terrifying and dangerous deep in them that Alya’s kicking herself for never noticing before.

“You’re nothing but a lying snake,” Alya hisses. “I heard Adrien and Mari talking about you. Adrien knows you’re lying!”

“Uh, babe?” Nino appears by Alya’s side, but he’s not reaching for her hand or making any supportive movement. “What are you talking about?”

In response, Alya points at Adrien. “He’s known that Lila’s been lying this whole time! And he never told any of us, because she wasn’t “hurting us”. But he was perfectly happy to stand by and let Lila push Marinette around and drive us from her!”

“Alya?” Marinette says softly. Alya turns and grabs her best friend’s hands.

“I’m so, so sorry for not believing you,” she says. “And I’m sorry for thinking you were just jealous. I’ve been a rotten best friend.”

Marinette ducks her head, but the small smile crossing her lips makes Alya’s heart soar. “You don’t have to apologise, Alya –”

“Marinette!” Lila wails. “You turned my friend against me? How could you?” Ah, so now Lila’s going on the direct attack rather than indirectly attacking Marinette.

“Adrien wouldn’t just stand by and let someone lie to us like that.” Nino crosses his arms. “Dude wouldn’t do that to his best friend.”

“Exactly!” Lila latches on to Nino’s arm and bats her eyelashes. Alya bites back a growl because no damn way is she letting Lila Rossi get a rise out of her. “Adrien’s _very_ sweet and loyal and trustworthy. No wonder Marinette has a crush on him!” She gasps and covers her mouth. “Oops! I’m so sorry, Marinette! I didn’t mean to confirm – oh, no!”

“Wait, what?” Adrien says as everyone else rushes to reassure Lila that no, she’s not a horrible person for throwing Marinette under the bus like that. Marinette’s white face has now turned a sickly shade of pink.

“You know damn well that you meant to do that, you lying bitch!” Chloé snarls. She’s now next to Alya, shielding Marinette from the murmuring crowd.

“Mari, are you okay?” Alya turns again and grabs Marinette by the biceps. “Don’t let that liar get to you.”

“Well, Adrien knows now,” Marinette says with a weak laugh. “Time to move to New Zealand and change my name to Marino and dye my hair –”

“Not gonna happen,” Alya growls. “He doesn’t deserve you. He’s been throwing you under the bus to save his own skin.”

“Akuma!” someone shrieks. Alya whirls around and gasps at the sight of the little black butterfly that’s fluttering down to the crowd. Everyone screams and jumps away, parting like the Red Sea until the only people left in the akuma’s path are Alya, Marinette, Chloé, Adrien and Lila.

“It’s heading for Dupain-Cheng!” Chloé pushes Marinette back. “Get away, you nasty bug!”

Lila barely smiles, but Alya still catches the sinister little look. Before her very eyes, Lila starts angling towards the akuma while pretending she’s backing away – no way, Lila _wants_ to be akumatised, Marinette was right, what a lying bitch!

“Adrien! Protect Lila!” Alya says. Lila screams when Adrien grabs her and she starts fighting against him, crying something about how he mustn’t sacrifice himself for her, but Alya’s not buying that crap, Lila just doesn’t want to be pulled away from the akuma –

“Sort yourself out, Dupain-Cheng!” Chloé barks when the akuma descends even closer.

“I’m trying!” Marinette says.

It happens almost in slow motion. Just before the akuma can sink into Marinette’s earrings, Alya shoves Marinette out of the way. Suddenly, white-hot rage surges through her – rage at Lila, at her classmates, at _Adrien_, they all need to pay, _no one_ hurts her best friend –

“Hello, Défenseure,” says a deep, smooth voice. No, no, _no_, this can’t be happening – _fuck off, Hawkmoth! _“Your best friend has been wronged by those you trusted. I’m giving you the power to defend her against those who wish to do her harm.”

“Alya!” Marinette’s voice is far away, warbled, distorted like she’s underwater – dimly, Alya realises that she’s on her knees and everyone’s backing away from her, but not Marinette, Marinette’s there with her and shaking her, and _Chloé’s_ with her. “Don’t listen to him!”

“I don’t need your power, Hawkmoth,” Alya gasps. She digs her nails into her arms, trying to ground herself against the poisonous fury seeping through her veins, beseeching her to say yes, to accept this dark power to keep Marinette safe from those who don’t deserve her. “Leave me alone!”

“And just how do you plan to unmask Lila, hmm?” Hawkmoth’s voice is soft and persuasive, burrowing into Alya’s brain. “I can give you that power. You can protect Marinette and show everyone Lila’s true nature. All I need in return is Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculouses.”

“Alya, please!” Marinette’s face swims before Alya’s eyes, hazy, slipping in and out of focus, her blue eyes glossy with tears. “Push him out!”

“If I can say no, you can too!” Chloé says. “Fight him, Alya!”

“You’d do anything for your friends,” Hawkmoth says. “I admire that. Such a noble soul. I want to help you, Défenseure. You’ve been lied to and turned against your best friend. You want to make that right, don’t you?”

Alya’s shoulders slump. Hawkmoth’s right. If she hadn’t overheard Adrien and Marinette, she’d never know that Lila’s a liar. She’d still be thinking of Marinette as jealous, still be choosing another girl over her best friend…

“Okay, Hawkmoth.”

The last thing she sees is Marinette’s horrified face, before she’s falling down, down into the darkness…


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> Thanks to Winter_Phoenix, GodOfWolves, Haruhi, Angelladyspring, Lovebug84, KnightOwl247, Squidgod, FeliciaBelle, Sunflowereevee and BlackCanary13 for your comments :)

“Dupain-Cheng! Move it!”

The only reason a frozen Marinette moves is because Chloé grabs her by the arm and yanks her away from the purple-black mass containing Alya. But they’re not fast enough to duck towards one of the buildings before an akumatised Alya straightens up.

“I am Défenseure!” the akuma announces in a voice that’s both familiar and totally alien. It’s Alya’s voice…but it’s also distorted and deep, like someone has taken it and run it through a video editing program and removed just enough humanity from it to make it sound otherworldly. “And no one will ever hurt my friends again!”

Défenseure is tall and dressed in a long, black medieval gown with purple accents around her waist, collar, and down her skirt, along with a purple shield on her left wrist that’s emblazoned with a large black butterfly. Her brown hair has turned jet-black and falls in silky curls, framing her ash grey face and vivid purple eyes and lips. She looks like Alya…but also not like Alya. It’s like someone’s taken Alya’s features and airbrushed them, sharpening her cheekbones and jaw, given her an air of dangerous regality befitting her new queenly look.

“Lila is nothing but a lying little snake,” Défenseure growls. “She bullied Marinette and tried to drive a wedge between us and Marinette. Adrien threw Marinette to the wolves to protect his own skin. Nino chose to blindly believe in Adrien instead of showing faith in me and asking Adrien to tell the truth. And don’t even get me started on our classmates.”

“Alya, please!” Marinette rips her arm free of Chloé’s grip and dashes over to Défenseure, ignoring Chloé’s pissed cry. “Don’t do this! You don’t need Hawkmoth’s power to make things right!”

Défenseure just smiles and rests a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “These people don’t deserve you, girl,” she says. “I’m going to make sure that you’re never hurt by them again. I’ll defend and protect you like I should’ve done in the first place!”

Before anyone can react, Défenseure turns to Lila and slams her free palm into her shield. The concrete beneath her crumbles and cracks towards Lila, who screams when shards of stone burst out and wrap around her, encasing her in ropes of rock and rooting her to the spot like a malignant weed.

“Alya! This isn’t the answer!” Marinette pleads as their classmates immediately swarm over to Lila and start trying to free her from her prison. “We can teach Lila and Adrien how to be better without hurting them!”

“If talking to them wasn’t gonna do anything before, it won’t now!” Défenseure says. “I won’t let you get hurt again! You’re my best friend!” She once again slams her shield. This time, instead of ropes of concrete, the ground rises around Marinette to encase her in a small dome, plunging her into pitch black and cutting off any sound from the outside.

“Oh my god,” Marinette gasps. “What have I done? I shouldn’t have told Adrien off like that! Alya’s been akumatised and it’s all my fault –”

“That’s rubbish and you know it,” Tikki scolds. “You had every right to tell Adrien how his inaction was hurting you, and you certainly didn’t know that Alya and Chloé would be listening. And what if Alya hadn’t overheard? She’d still be caught in Lila’s web of lies and you’d be drifting even further from your best friend. If it wasn’t for Hawkmoth, you could be dealing with this like normal teenagers.”

Marinette’s shoulders slump. “You’re right. It’s Hawkmoth’s fault. We need to get out of here. But how do we escape without revealing that I’m Ladybug? It’ll be a no-brainer if Ladybug’s seen bursting out of here when Marinette had been trapped inside.”

“Think outside the box, Marinette,” Tikki urges. “Who says that they have to see Ladybug _bursting out_?”

Marinette bites her lip. Bursting out? What does Tikki mean – oh. Wait. Of course! “Tikki, spots on!”

As Ladybug, she turns a hundred and eighty degrees until she’s facing the other way, then takes a deep breath and uses her yo-yo to smash the back of her rocky prison. With dust everywhere, she takes advantage of this cover to bound out of the hole and over to one of the sets of doors leading out of the courtyard. Once inside, she counts to ten, then swings back out, praying that her bluff pays off.

“Ladybug!” Défenseure snarls. “Where did you take Marinette?”

Boom. There it is. Ladybug totally owes Tikki a whole plate of cookies once this is over. Thank god no one had noticed that the dome had erupted outwards, not inwards.

“Somewhere safe.” Ladybug rests her hands on her hips. “This isn’t the answer, Alya. Let me purify your akuma. You can defend Marinette without accepting Hawkmoth’s power.”

“The name is Défenseure!” Défenseure attempts to capture Ladybug with the same rock bindings as Lila, but Ladybug darts out of the way before her legs can be swallowed. “And where were _you_ when it came to defending Marinette, huh? You knew all along that Lila wasn’t your best friend! But you let Marinette cop the brunt of Lila’s bullshit!”

“It’s not my place to interfere with everyday matters,” Ladybug says. “If I came out and said that Lila wasn’t my friend, I’d be expected to interfere every time someone tells a lie like that. The Miraculouses shouldn’t be used for such trivial things.”

Défenseure laughs shrilly. “Everyday matters? Trivial things? She’s been akumatised three fucking times! Sabrina was right about Heroes’ Day!”

“You’ve been akumatised three times, counting this one,” someone in the crowd has the nerve to point out. With a shriek, Défenseure traps half the group of people in stone.

“She tried to get to Marinette’s akuma just before!” Défenseure says. “She needs to be exposed so that the world can see that my best friend deserves to be the one protected for once!”

Well, shit. If Ladybug didn’t have to do her job, she might actually have taken the time to feel touched at Alya’s ruthless defence of her.

“Ladybug, look out!”

Ladybug curses and leaps away when she realises that she’d spent a second too long stuck in her own thoughts. A blur of yellow barrels past her and leaps onto Défenseure’s back, wrapping slim limbs around her neck and waist to throw her off-balance.

“What are you waiting for?” Chloé shrieks. “Take her down, Ladybug!”

“Get off me, you buzzing mosquito!” Défenseure fumbles around to grab Chloé by the ponytail and slams her into the ground. Chloé lets out a pained gasp. “Well, _you_ at least were there for Marinette. Maybe I’ll protect you from everyone else too. At least Queen Bee is useful.”

“Meowch,” says a voice from behind Défenseure. She whirls just in time to catch the silvery baton on her shield, giving Ladybug the opportunity to toss her yo-yo and yank Chloé out of harm’s way.

“Chat!” Ladybug says. “You didn’t have to let her know you were there!”

“Finally. Now I can take your Miraculouses for Hawkmoth!” Défenseure says. She lunges and swings her shield to smash Chat Noir in the face, sending him barrelling into the last few people that are bolting from the courtyard. While Défenseure is trapping them like she did to Lila and the other people, Ladybug takes this chance to swing up to the roof and deposit Chloé.

“Stay here,” Ladybug says. “I can’t let Défenseure hurt you.”

“But I want to help!” Chloé says. “I know you said I can’t be Queen Bee anymore because Hawkmoth knows who I am but…I can’t just sit here!”

“I appreciate that, Chloé,” Ladybug says with a small smile. “But you’re a civilian right now. My responsibility is to keep you safe.”

“There has to be some way I can help!”

Ladybug tilts her head as she regards Chloé. Huh. That’s…a big change of heart. She’d expected Chloé to plead to be allowed to be Queen Bee again, not to demand to help in any way possible. Has Chloé really grown and started to become a better person?

“You can help by staying up here, where Défenseure can’t get you,” Ladybug finally says. “But thank you for offering to help, even without a Miraculous. It means a lot.”

“Yeah – whatever.” Chloé’s cheeks pinken. “I just – you trusted me to be a better person when you let me be Queen Bee. Just ‘cause I can’t be her anymore doesn’t mean I can’t be better. Alya Césaire said you’d be proud of me…or something.”

“And I am,” Ladybug says. Chloé’s face deepens to scarlet, and she huffs and crosses her arms.

“Whatever. Just go and beat her already! And Dupain-Cheng better be safe, ‘cause I didn’t tackle an akuma just to get her caught again.”

Has Ladybug fallen through a rift and ended up in an alternate dimension or something? “Do you…actually care about Marinette?” she says.

“Pfft! Dupain-Cheng? As if!” Chloé splutters. “I just…figured I owed her for the Mum thing and for the party! I don’t _like_ her or anything.”

Ladybug fights to conceal her smile. “I’m sure she appreciates it, Chloé. Just stay here, okay? I’ll be able to do my job better if I know you’re not in danger.”

That’s clearly the right thing to say; Chloé’s eyes light up and she bounces on the spot.

“I won’t let you down, Ladybug! I couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt because I was distracting you!”

With a nod, Ladybug swings back down to the courtyard, where Défenseure has pinned Chat Noir to the ground and is trying to wrench his ring off while he cups his ring hand protectively.

“Give me your Miraculous, you stupid cat!” Défenseure snarls. “I need to go and find Marinette, and you’re wasting my time!”

“Are you sure you’re not meant to be the knight?” Chat Noir grins. “Marinette’s the princess, after all.”

“And that princess is safely hidden away.” Ladybug catches Défenseure’s shield arm with her yo-yo and yanks the akuma off Chat Noir. Then she goes on the attack, trying to get past Défenseure’s shield, her brain racing as she ponders where the hell the akuma could be. It hadn’t gone anywhere near Alya’s head…how had Alya been angled when throwing herself in front of Marinette? Side-on, arms out…her bag exposed…

“Of course!” Ladybug gasps. “Chat Noir, the akuma’s in her shield! That must have been her satchel when she was Alya, and it was exposed when she protected Marinette!”

“How do you know that?” Chat Noir says.

“I – uh – was nearby!” Ladybug hastens to say. “I heard about the akuma, so I came to purify it. But it got Alya before I could.”

“Well then, milady, fancy a duel?” Chat Noir grins and bows. He’s immediately forced to bound out of the way of Défenseure’s ground attack.

“Focus, kitty!” Ladybug says. “Quit playing around!”

“But how else am I supposed to enchant you with my dazzling wit?”

“You’re not!” Ladybug attempts to wrap her yo-yo around Défenseure’s legs, but Défenseure just laughs and jumps away. “You’re meant to focus on the mission! Duty now, jokes later!”

“Trouble in paradise?” Défenseure sings. The next slam of her shield is directed at Ladybug, who smoothly dodges and reciprocates with a throw of her yo-yo. It whacks Défenseure in the face and she staggers backwards, off-balance, leaving her open for Chat Noir to swoop in and thrust his baton under her chin.

“Looks like we knocked this princess off her tower,” Chat Noir quips as he approaches Défenseure, who’s groaning on the ground with her skirts splayed around her. He kicks her shield away. “Cataclysm!”

Ladybug frowns. Surely it can’t be this easy… “Chat Noir, be careful! She might –”

With a cackle, Défenseure traps Chat Noir’s ring arm between her grey legs, then reaches up to grab him by the hair and flip him into the ground near a wide-eyed Lila. Once she’s forced his sparking hand to crumble Lila’s bonds, she smoothly recovers her shield and traps Lila again when Lila tries to make a run for it.

“Nice try, kitty,” Défenseure grins. “You’re as predictable as Lila is a liar. Or Adrien is a coward.”

“Hey!” Chat Noir says as he pushes himself to his feet. “Adrien’s not a coward!”

“Oh, yeah?” Défenseure hits her shield. Ropes of concrete snake out and tug Chat Noir’s arms behind his back, along with tying his legs together to prevent him from kicking out. “Then why did he throw Marinette to the wolves, huh?” She dodges a kick from Ladybug. “Why did he sit back and twiddle his thumbs and let Lila try and ruin Marinette’s life just because he didn’t want to be treated like a pariah too?”

“What could calling her out have done?” Chat Noir says. “She’s gonna lie no matter what. We have to be better than her and not stoop to her level.”

“I’m right here!” Lila says. She’s ignored.

“Wow, you actually sound like that asshole,” Défenseure laughs. When Ladybug tries to get her with a yo-yo toss, she deflects it with her shield and then kicks Ladybug into Chat Noir and his stone bonds. ““All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing!” You sit back and wring your hands? Lila wins! Adrien Agreste is a coward, and he’d better hope I don’t find him after I take your Miraculouses!”

“There are other ways to deal with him!” Ladybug says. This time, she tries a feint, but Défenseure is expecting it and creates a splash of rock with a wave of her shield to cover herself from both sides, then slams Ladybug into the ground with her shield. “Taking Hawkmoth’s power is letting evil win, Alya!”

“My – name – is – Défenseure!” Défenseure punctuates each word with a kick, then straddles a groaning Ladybug and pins her with her free arm against her throat, then drops her shield to be able to take the earrings. “And Hawkmoth’s a way lesser evil than Lila! Hawkmoth’s not the one who tried to destroy my best friend’s life!”

Oh, if only Défenseure knew.

“Hawkmoth’s just a fancy supervillain! He’s not a lying little snake who worms his way into places and spits poison whenever he speaks! Now, give me your earrings, Ladybug!”

“Dupain-Cheng! What the fuck are you doing, you idiot?” Chloé’s voice echoes around the courtyard. Ladybug’s eyes widen. What – but – how? How could Chloé know –

“Marinette!” Défenseure leaps up and snatches up her shield. “Where are you? I’m not gonna hurt you, girl!”

While Défenseure is distracted, Ladybug uses her yo-yo to free Chat Noir from his stony prison, then tosses it into the air and cries, “Lucky Charm!” A miniature gong falls into her hands.

“Chloé Bourgeois!” Défenseure howls when she realises she’s been tricked. “Where are you, you spoilt brat? I’ll crush you for that!”

“Are we gonna play her a song?” Chat Noir says as Ladybug frowns down at the gong, trying to figure out what the hell to do with it. Nothing’s coming to mind… “I mean, she’s easily distracted. Maybe you could yeet it at her. Shiny things could do it.”

Easily distracted…what if…but of course! That’s what the gong means!

“I need to get help!” Ladybug says. “You go hide and refuel!”

Chat Noir salutes and bounds away before Défenseure can trap him again.

“Hey! What about me?” Lila snaps when Ladybug throws her yo-yo. Ladybug smiles innocently.

“I can’t free all of you before Défenseure gets us or I time out,” she says. “And I can’t show favouritism, even if you _were_ my best friend. Bug out!” She swings out before Lila can process what she’d just said in front of everyone else. Okay, so that was petty, but can she be blamed? She’s human, after all.

* * *

“Marinette?” Master Fu says when Marinette enters his parlour after knocking. “You require help once more?”

Marinette nods. Her bottom lip trembling, she says, “Master, it’s Alya! She found out that Lila’s lying, and she took an akuma meant for me.”

Master Fu fetches the Miraculous box and sets it down between them, then opens it. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you. Choose wisely. Once the mission is complete, you must retrieve their Miraculous and return it to me.”

Biting her lip, Marinette regards her choices. The Turtle? No, protection will do nothing to help get around Défenseure’s shield. The Bee? Quite possibly…but they’d have to get through Défenseure’s guard first. And they can’t do that without her attention wavering. They need a way of distracting her…

“Wait, what am I doing?” Marinette facepalms when she picks up the Fox necklace. “Alya’s been akumatised!”

“Trust your instincts, Marinette!” Tikki says. “You chose the Fox for a reason.”

“Each temporary hero isn’t set in stone, Marinette,” Master Fu says. “You’re choosing the Miraculous for the person, not the person for the Miraculous. This is why they are temporary: so that you can work around potential issues and fix them. Do you know someone who could wield the Fox in lieu of Alya?”

“Well, I’d need someone quick on their feet,” Marinette says. “Someone who can get in and out of there without being scared of facing Défenseure.” Her eyes widen. “What if…”

“Yes?” Tikki says. Marinette frowns down at the Bee, then at the Fox, and then she lets out a laugh.

“Of course! I know exactly what to do!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own ML.
> 
> Thanks to CaptainRose, BigFan, KnightOwl247, Gullwhacker, kimsquirtle, AlexSeanchai, FeliciaBelle and hafoosi for your comments :)

Once she’s back at the school, Ladybug swings up to the rooftop to search for Chloé. Thankfully, Chloé is safe and sound, ducking down to hide when she looks like she’ll be spotted by Défenseure as the akuma returns to the courtyard.

“Ladybug!” Chloé claps her hands when Ladybug lands next to her. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and Ladybug can’t help but smile back.

“I need your help,” Ladybug says.

“Finally!” Chloé tosses her ponytail. “Is it time for Queen Bee to return?”

Ladybug shakes her head. “I told you, Chloé. You can’t be Queen Bee ever again now that the world knows your secret identity.”

“But I loved being a hero with you!” Chloé’s bottom lip trembles. “Please, Ladybug, I’ll do anything to help you! Being Queen Bee was one of the best times of my life!”

Ladybug reaches out and takes Chloé’s hand, then squeezes it. “I know, Chloé. Queen Bee may have been retired permanently, but I think it’s time for a new hero to emerge.”

Chloé frowns at her. With a smile, Ladybug fetches the Miraculous box from her yo-yo and holds it out.

“Chloé Bourgeois, here is the Miraculous of the Fox, which grants the power of illusion. You will use it for the greater good, then return it to me once the job is done.”

Chloé’s jaw has dropped so far that it may as well have unhinged from her skull. “I – but – Rena Rouge?” she manages to splutter.

“The thing about temporary heroes is that they’re just that,” Ladybug says. “Temporary. If we need to shuffle a few Miraculouses around to better suit wielders, then that’s what we’ll do. We have to choose a Miraculous for the person, not a person for the Miraculous. I feel like the Bee might be a better fit for Rena Rouge, since she’s hot-headed and prefers a direct approach. I only chose her for the Fox because she was the person best-suited to help at the time.”

“But why give the Fox to me?”

“For one, you’ve proven that you’re trying to change.” Ladybug crosses her arms, still smiling. “I never wanted to retire Chloé Bourgeois as a hero. Just Queen Bee. And for another, I feel like you could benefit much more from Trixx and the Fox’s powers. What you did before to distract Défenseure was brilliantly clever, Chloé. It definitely saved our Miraculouses.”

Chloé swells under Ladybug’s praise. “Oh – well, I suppose if you put it that way,” she says before snapping open the box. In a flash of bright orange light, Trixx materialises, their bright violet eyes looking over Chloé with sharp curiosity.

“Hi, there!” Trixx says. “My name is Trixx, and I’m your kwami!”

“You’re way different to Pollen,” is the first thing Chloé says. Ladybug laughs behind her hand.

“Of course I am!” Trixx says. “And if you’re gonna be my kit, I’ll expect nothing less than the best.”

Chloé straightens up and nods. Hmm. Maybe Trixx really is a better fit for Chloé than Pollen. Nothing against Pollen, but Chloé needs a firm hand to guide her and push her into being the best she can be, rather than someone who’ll just nod along with whatever she does.

“Thank you so much for this second chance, Ladybug,” Chloé says as she fastens the necklace around her neck. “I won’t let you down, I promise!” She looks at Trixx and adds, “Are you okay with me being your new holder? And Rena Rouge getting Pollen?”

“Well, I’m definitely gonna miss Rena,” Trixx says. “But it’s not the first time we’ve been swapped around like this. I get the feeling I’ll have a lot more work to do with you.”

“And…you’re okay with that? I’m not exactly a good person…”

“Hey.” Ladybug rests a hand on Chloé’s shoulder and squeezes. “Don’t sell yourself short, Chloé. You’re trying. That’s what matters. I’m not expecting you to be perfect straight away.”

“I’ve had absolutely foul wielders before,” Trixx says cheerfully. “And believe me, I brought every one of them around. If you’re already on the right track, you’ll be a piece of cake compared to them. Enough chit-chat! Just say, “let’s pounce” to transform and “let’s rest” to turn back. And I’m sure you already know what Mirage does.”

Chloé nods with a determined little smile that warms Ladybug to the core. “Trixx, let’s pounce!” she says before being enveloped in orange light. It fades to reveal Chloé in a pale orange suit with a white chest and belly, which is split by the band of bright orange around her waist that falls behind her in a wide orange and black fox tail. She has white elbow-length gloves and knee-high boots with black palms and soles and black fluff around the tops of her gloves and boots, along with a collar of white fur around her neck with the Fox Miraculous resting on her breastbone underneath it. Topping off her outfit is a mask that’s pale orange with a white outline and a white line curving underneath her eyes from the upper corner to the lower corner, long orange and white fox ears sticking out of her hair, and a blonde ponytail that fades to white.

“Oh my gosh!” Chloé bounces on the spot while examining her outfit. “Thank you, Ladybug, thank you! I won’t let you down!”

“Focus, Chloé!” As much as it pains Ladybug to trod on Chloé’s excitement, she’s already got one hyperactive partner, and that had nearly cost them their Miraculouses.

“Oh – right, Ladybug!” Chloé frowns for a moment. “Call me Vixen!”

“Okay, Vixen. Let’s go! We have to find Chat Noir and plan our attack.”

Ladybug and Vixen bound along the rooftop until they’re far enough from the courtyard that they won’t be seen by Défenseure, then scale the wall down and slip into a classroom.

“Ladybug!” The students in the room gasp and swarm around Ladybug and Vixen. With a jolt, Ladybug realises that they’re her classmates and that it’s their classroom that she and Vixen have broken into. Which makes sense, really, when considering that it had been pure instinct that had guided them to a room.

“Dude, that’s not Rena Rouge!” Nino’s staring straight at Vixen, who squares her shoulders under his gaze.

“Rena Rouge has been retired,” Ladybug says. “But the person herself will still fight alongside me when I need her because I’d trust her with my life. I’ve found a Miraculous that better suits her, just as I’ve found someone that suits the Fox very well.”

“I’m Vixen,” Vixen says. Her nose twitches, like she wants to wrinkle her nose at her classmates but manages to stop herself just in time. “I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you all, but after what you did to Dup – Marinette?”

“Vixen,” Ladybug chides, although she can’t ignore the warmth that pools in her belly at Vixen’s defence of her.

“Is it true? That you’re not friends with Lila?” Juleka says, not meeting either hero’s eyes.

“Yes,” Ladybug says. “I’d never met Lila before the day she arrived in Paris. I offered to be her friend when I saved her from Volpina, but she rejected me because she was angry that she’d been caught out. She was here on Heroes’ Day, not in Achu; it was her illusions that made you think that I’d been akumatised and killed Chat Noir. And she was Chameleon when she took an akuma meant for m – Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Marinette had alerted me to it, but Lila got to it before I could.”

Her classmates gasp and start to whisper among each other. Is it really right for Ladybug to use her mask to denounce Lila like this? Maybe not. Or maybe it is. Too many people have already been hurt by Lila and her lies. And there’s no way that Ladybug is going to allow there to be another Défenseure; Alya should never have had to go through this, and Ladybug will be damned if she lets her friends get hurt just to cover for a liar who’d tried to make her life hell.

“We’re sorry, Ladybug!” Rose says. “We should never have believed Lila!”

“Ladybug’s not the one you owe an apology to,” Vixen says with crossed arms. “Isn’t Du – Marinette the one who tried to tell you all that Lila was a rotten liar?”

“I’m sure Marinette appreciates this, Vixen, but we need to get going and find Chat Noir,” Ladybug says.

“I think I saw him down near the science lab,” Ivan says. Ladybug nods, and then she and Vixen duck out into the hallway and head for the science lab.

“Thank you for standing up for Marinette,” Ladybug says as they run. “But they’re not bad people.”

“I know that!” Vixen huffs. “They can’t be any worse than me. But come on, it was so obvious that Lila was lying! Ditched in the Amazon? Jagged Stone’s kitten? Prince Ali? Seriously?”

“Well, maybe this will teach them to think a little more critically about things,” Ladybug says. “I just don’t think they should be crucified over a mistake.”

Vixen rolls her eyes. “Okay, yeah, you’re right. Man, you and Dupain-Cheng would be the best of friends. You’re both sickeningly forgiving.”

“If we weren’t, you wouldn’t be taking on Défenseure with me right now,” Ladybug points out with a smirk. Vixen splutters, then glares at Ladybug, though not with any malice.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Vixen mutters so quietly that Ladybug nearly misses it. It takes a moment for Ladybug’s brain to process what Vixen had just said, but when it does, she nearly stumbles over her own feet and takes Vixen out in a rolling catastrophe.

_Focus, Ladybug! Wait until later to think about the fact that Chloé Bourgeois thinks you’re cute! Why do I even care, anyway?_

* * *

“Milady!” Chat Noir greets when Vixen and Ladybug barrel into the lab to find him reclining on one of the lab benches. He frowns at Vixen. “And, uh…not-Rena Rouge?”

Vixen bites back a snarky comment. Maybe Not-Rena Rouge should’ve been her new superhero name instead of Vixen.

“Rena’s been retired,” Ladybug says. “I think she’ll suit the Bee better now that Queen Bee’s been retired too, just like I think Vixen suits the Fox.”

“And let me guess, I can’t know who she is?” Chat Noir grimaces.

“That’s not my call to make, and you know it.”

“Um, hello?” Vixen says. If Ladybug and Chat Noir start fighting again, she’s totally going to slap a bitch. “Akuma?”

“Right!” Ladybug shakes her head. “Is she still in the courtyard?”

“No, she’s moved to the roof,” Chat Noir says. “She’s still looking for Marinette.”

“Well, Marinette’s so safe that Défenseure will never find her,” Ladybug says as they burst out into the courtyard and then bound up to the roof. Défenseure, who’s just blasted away a chunk of roof to peer into the room below, whirls to face them.

“Ladybug. Chat Noir,” she sneers. She squints at Vixen. “That’s not Rena Rouge.”

Vixen’s eye twitches. “Why does everyone keep saying that?” she grumbles. “I’m Vixen. Ladybug’s shuffling Miraculouses around.”

A purple butterfly mask appears over Défenseure’s face for a moment. “Well, if we’re playing musical Miraculouses, I say that we should give the Ladybug and Black Cat to Hawkmoth,” she says.

“I don’t think so,” Ladybug says. “Lucky Charm!”

“Kinky,” Chat Noir grins when Ladybug catches a pair of ladybug-patterned handcuffs. “I wouldn’t mind being cuffed to you, milady.”

“Now’s not the time for jokes!” Ladybug says.

“Killjoy,” Chat Noir grumbles. “Learn to lighten up!”

“Is that all this is to you? A joke?” Ladybug turns to face Chat Noir with her hands on her hips. “This is serious business, Chat Noir!”

Défenseure takes advantage of the heroes’ distraction to lunge at them with her shield. Great. Now Vixen has to pick up the slack for _two_ heroes.

“Hurry up and sort out your little bitchfight!” she says as she bats Défenseure away with her flute.

“Don’t you mean a lover’s spat?” Chat Noir winks. “After Oblivio –”

“No!” Ladybug stamps her foot. “I don’t like you in that way, Chat, and I never will!”

“But we’re destined to be together! We’re the Ladybug and Black Cat! Yin and yang!”

“No one’s destined to be with anyone! We’re people, not game pieces or fictional characters! You need to respect my feelings, Chat!”

“And what about _my_ feelings? Do you know how much it hurts every time you turn me down?”

“Jesus Christ!” Défenseure creates a wall of concrete between Ladybug and Chat Noir. “Learn to take no for an answer!”

“Uh…thanks?” Ladybug says.

“Hey, even as an akuma, I gotta follow the girl code,” Défenseure says. “No means no.”

“You didn’t think that when you posted that picture on the Ladyblog!” Chat Noir says.

“Don’t act like that’s the same thing!” Défenseure says. She directs the wall to wrap around Chat Noir, but he leaps out of the way before he can be ensnared. “One inappropriate action isn’t the same as constantly pressuring someone to accept my feelings for them!”

“I have to agree with Défenseure,” Ladybug says. “I’ve rejected you time and time again, Chat. I’m happy to be friends with you but I _don’t want_ anything more!”

“Sorry about that, by the way,” Défenseure says. Ladybug smiles at her.

“Apology accepted.”

“What a fucking train wreck,” Vixen mutters. What the hell even _is_ this battle? Is this all just a fever dream?

“If you’d just like me back –”

“_I don’t owe you anything_!” Ladybug shouts. “And with the way you’re acting now, I’m glad I don’t return your feelings!”

“How can you say that?” Chat Noir says with an honest-to-god pout. “What’s so wrong with me? Am I really that horrible a person?”

Vixen whistles. Shit. The old guilt-trip. Now things are getting real.

“Oh, hell no,” Défenseure says. “You did _not_ just pull the guilt-trip.”

“We’re supposed to be fighting Défenseure, not airing our relationship troubles for the world to see!” Ladybug says.

“What relationship?” Chat Noir says darkly. “You said yourself that we don’t have one, right?”

“If you’re so sore that you’re willing to throw away a close friendship because I won’t date you –”

“Everyone can see that we’re meant to be together, milady! Why can’t you?”

“_Stop calling me that_! You sound like – like one of those fedora incels whenever you call me milady!”

“Did you just call me an _incel_?”

“You’re kinda acting like one now, what with trying to pressure Ladybug into liking you,” Défenseure says helpfully.

“If she’d just give me a chance –”

“Am I talking to a brick wall?” Ladybug face-palms.

“Probably,” Vixen says. It’s just a pity that Défenseure’s akuma is in the shield strapped to her wrist, otherwise Vixen could totally just walk up and grab it without anyone noticing. Lucky Charm _does_ apparently work in mysterious ways…

“You’re lucky that Défenseure is on my side!” Ladybug says. “If this was anything like Glaciator or Frozer –”

“How are they my fault? You’re the one who hurt my feelings!”

“_You’re_ the one who pouted in the middle of an akuma battle and refused to work with me because of your hurt feelings! The mission always comes first!”

“Why can’t you learn to have fun?”

“Why can’t you learn that this is our job, not a game? People’s _lives_ are at stake! We’re the defenders of Paris, Chat, not kids in costumes!”

Vixen and Défenseure’s heads swivel from Ladybug to Chat Noir like they’re watching a tennis match. Ladybug and Chat Noir, both red-faced, are in each other’s faces with clenched fists as they argue. Ladybug’s earrings beep, but neither she nor Chat Noir pay them any mind.

“I guess it’s all up to me, then,” Vixen mumbles. She slinks away behind a large metal exhaust fan, then raises her flute to her lips and pictures her illusion in her mind while playing a short tune. “Mirage!”

“That’s enough!”

Ladybug and Chat Noir’s argument screeches to a halt when Marinette emerges from behind another fan with crossed arms and a scowl.

“I – _what_?” Ladybug splutters.

“Marinette!” Défenseure’s eyes light up. “I knew you were up here!”

“This is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” Vixen says through the Marinette illusion. Whoops. Okay, tone the Chloé way down. “Chat Noir, you need to stop being such a creep!”

“How can you take her side?” Chat Noir sounds like Marinette had killed a puppy in front of him rather than just told him off. “We had that moment on your balcony! You saw the romantic surprise I made for Ladybug!”

“That doesn’t mean I have to like you back!” Ladybug says. “I even told you that I wouldn’t be able to make it!”

“Wow, one moment!” illusion Marinette says with a sarcastic clap. “You’re totally meant to be! Never mind that Ladybug doesn’t owe you anything outside the mask!”

“Marinette –”

“No! Be quiet!” illusion Marinette snaps. “The only thing you and Ladybug owe each other is a professional relationship to battle akumas! Ladybug doesn’t have to be your friend or your girlfriend or anything else, and you’re lucky that she even wanted to be your friend!”

While Vixen is tearing strips off Chat Noir through illusion Marinette, Ladybug sidles up to Défenseure and snaps the handcuffs around her wrists before she can react.

“Chat Noir!” Ladybug wrenches Défenseure’s shield away and throws it to Chat Noir. When it passes through the Mirage, illusion Marinette ripples out of existence with faint flute music.

“Wait, what?” Chat Noir’s face hardens when he catches sight of Vixen emerging from her hiding place. “You played me! How could you do that to me, Vixen?”

“It’s not like I was _wrong_,” Vixen drawls. “Now, hurry up and destroy the shield.”

Chat Noir crosses his arms. “No.”

“Chat!” Ladybug sweeps Défenseure’s legs out from under her when the akuma starts to work her way out of the cuffs. “Please! You need to Cataclysm the shield!”

“Why?” Chat Noir says bitterly. “You’re on Défenseure’s side, remember? You and Vixen. My feelings don’t matter.”

“Or you could do your fucking job now and throw your temper tantrum later!” Vixen says just as Ladybug’s earrings beep again.

“I don’t have time for this!” Ladybug uses her yo-yo to break the shield and release the akuma, then captures and purifies it while Vixen retrieves the handcuffs from Défenseure’s wrists and hands them to Ladybug. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

Défenseure collapses to her knees as she’s encased in a bubbling purple-black mass that melts away after a moment, taking her akuma appearance with it to leave Alya. “Huh?” she blinks, staring around. Meanwhile, Ladybug smiles at Vixen and holds her fist out.

“Pound it!” Vixen cries with Ladybug. Okay, so she’s done this before as Queen Bee…but still!

“I got akumatised _again_?” Alya’s mouth twists. Ladybug approaches her and kneels to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“What you did for Marinette was incredibly brave,” Ladybug says. “Don’t feel ashamed, Alya.” She gasps when her earrings beep urgently. “I have to go and tell Marinette that it’s safe to come out! But Alya – and the Miraculous –”

“I can take care of Alya,” Vixen says. “I’ll give the Miraculous back after you refuel.”

Alya’s eyes bulge when she catches sight of Vixen. “You’re not m – Rena Rouge!”

“If one more person says that, I’m actually gonna slap someone,” Vixen growls.

“I wish I had the time to explain,” Ladybug says. “But I really have to go. Bug out!”

“Why isn’t your ring beeping?” Alya says to Chat Noir as Vixen helps her up. Vixen snorts.

“How about we don’t go there?” she says. With a scowl at Chat Noir, she adds, “You’re just lucky Alya couldn’t film what happened for the Ladyblog.”

“Whatever,” Chat Noir mutters.

“Okay, what the hell did I miss?” Alya says. Before Chat Noir can answer her, Vixen’s scooped her up bridal-style and leaps off the roof to the ground below, then ducks around the side of the school to set her down. “What happened to Rena Rouge?”

“Retired,” Vixen says. Alya gasps. Wow, is the Ladyblogger really that attached to Rena? “But not replaced. From what Ladybug said, she’s getting another Miraculous. Maybe the Bee, since I – uh, Chloé Bourgeois can’t be Queen Bee anymore.”

Alya’s shoulders slump. “Oh. That’s good. I thought Ladybug was pissed at m – Rena Rouge.”

“Why do you even care?” Vixen says.

“No reason!” Alya says quickly. Then she smirks, albeit weakly. “You’ve got big shoes to fill, Vixen.”

“Hmph.” Vixen tosses her ponytail. “Screw you, Césaire.”

“Aww, and I was gonna interview you for the Ladyblog to introduce you to the public,” Alya drawls. Vixen’s retort is interrupted by her beeping necklace.

“As wonderful as that would be, I’ll have to pass for now,” Vixen says. “Now, get out of here so I can detransform.”

With a mocking little salute, Alya rounds the corner, leaving Vixen alone just as her transformation wears off and she turns back into Chloé in a flash of orange light.

“Nice job,” Trixx says. It could just be Chloé’s imagination, but Trixx seems to be staring fondly after Alya. “Pretty smart to use your illusion like that.”

“Duh!” Chloé says, crossing her arms. “I’m a total brainiac!”

“I’m glad to see that Ladybug chose well,” says a voice from behind her. Chloé shrieks and whirls around, jumping away from the old Chinese man in a red Hawaiian print shirt – ugh, seriously, that’s the tackiest thing she’s ever seen.

“Ladybug? Who’s Ladybug?” Chloé babbles.

“…We need to work on coming up with lies on the spot, though,” Trixx says with a facepalm. Chloé’s eyes bulge.

“Trixx!” she hisses. “Why didn’t you hide?”

“It’s quite alright, Chloé Bourgeois,” the old man says. “Trixx and I are…old friends.”

“He means that he’s the Guardian and he’s the one who gave the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses out,” Trixx says. “Being mysterious is my thing, old man.”

The man’s eyes twinkle. “My apologies for stealing your “thing”, Trixx.”

“So, uh…who _are_ you?” Chloé says. Okay, so she doesn’t have to panic about her identity being discovered again, but between the old man and Trixx, she’s gonna slap someone if she doesn’t get her answers.

“My name is Master Fu,” the man says. “And I’d like to talk to you about the battle that just occurred.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> In which Adrien gets a much-needed kick up the butt and realises what a jerk he’s been.
> 
> Also, a huge thanks to dargeon-lissa over on Tumblr, who kindly pointed out that Défenseure (as in, Défenseur with the -e on the end to make it feminine) is a "false French word" in France and it should have been Défenderesse or Défenseuse. I only know very basic French, enough to know that -e on the end is the feminine version of words, and although I can't really change Défenseure now, I massively appreciate that they pointed that out to me.
> 
> Thanks to mintyrest, GodOfWolves, crossoverlover232, Geeeny, FeliciaBelle, BigFan, CaptainRose, Izzyfandoms, KnightOwl247, LovingAlex, GabrielaMaria and Dak Hamee for your comments :)

When Adrien slides out of his car the next morning and catches sight of a familiar man in a red Hawaiian shirt staring at him from within an alley across the street, his first thought is that Serious Business must be going down. Why else would the Guardian be here to talk to him?

“I wonder what’s going on,” Adrien says as he peeks around to make sure that no one’s looking, then sidles over to where Master Fu is waiting. Plagg, of course, doesn’t answer. Ever since yesterday, Plagg’s barely said two words to him – and okay, so he messed up by refusing to Cataclysm the shield, but really, he wouldn’t have actually let anything bad happen to his lady. What’s got Plagg’s pants in a twist?

“Master?” Adrien says once he’s in the alley. “What’s going on? Is it Hawkmoth stuff? Do you need me to pick someone for a Miraculous?”

Master Fu doesn’t even crack a smile. That’s Adrien’s first indicator that shit is about to happen.

“I’m very disappointed in you, Chat Noir,” Master Fu says. Something curdles in Adrien’s gut.

“Is this about yesterday?” he says. “Look, I’m sorry, I was an idiot –”

“Be quiet.”

Adrien’s mouth snaps shut. Master Fu has _never_ spoken to him like that before. Serious Business really is going down, but Adrien’s not too sure he likes what kind it is.

“What you did yesterday was reprehensible,” Master Fu says. “You put your own feelings before the mission. Not only that, but you treated Ladybug like she was not even a person.”

“But you weren’t –”

“I was here to observe Vixen’s first mission with a new Miraculous. I saw and heard everything. I’m appalled, Adrien Agreste.”

“I’m sorry –”

“Are you?” Master Fu says. “Or are you only sorry that I saw?” He sighs and shakes his head. “I truly wish it had not come to this, but after the consequences of my last mistake…give me your ring.”

Adrien blinks. Then he blinks again. Then he shakes his head, just to make sure that he’d heard Master Fu right. “My ring? But –”

“Ladybug can no longer trust you to have her back on missions,” Master Fu says. “And after what I saw yesterday, I must agree.”

“But why me?” No, no, this can’t be happening, Adrien can’t lose his freedom, he just _can’t_. “Why not her? She was arguing with me too!”

“Don’t deflect from your wrongdoing!” Master Fu snaps. Has the Guardian ever snapped before? Adrien can’t recall. “Ladybug wouldn’t have been distracted and argumentative if not for you. And she has proven herself to be far more trustworthy than you.”

“Only because she’s the one you’ve been working with! Neither of you would tell me anything!”

“And what have you done to earn that trust? Ladybug brought me extremely valuable information. Ladybug is the one who has worked tirelessly with me to interpret that information. You, however, have treated your duties like a game.” Every one of Master Fu’s words hits Adrien in the face like he’d thrown a brick instead. “You complained that Ladybug was in on some secret, but you never stopped to consider that it was not her secret to tell, nor had you done anything to prove that you were ready to know. Ladybug wanted to tell you in the first place. _I_ was the one who stopped her.”

“Plagg!” Adrien yanks his shirt open to free Plagg. “Please! Tell him! I’m a good Chat Noir! He can’t take my ring!”

Plagg just stares at him with wide green eyes. More than anything, it’s Plagg’s refusal to speak up that hammers in exactly how serious this situation is.

“Give me a second chance!” Adrien begs. “Please! I’ll do anything! I’ve learned my lesson! You can’t take it after one mistake –”

“One mistake?” Master Fu says. “Adrien, this _was_ your second chance. You’ve been on your second chance ever since you threatened to take your ring off when Syren flooded Paris. I revealed myself to you for Ladybug’s sake. I gave you another chance because I didn’t want to interfere with your partnership, and because I hoped that you would have learned from your rash threat. After yesterday, though, I see that you will always allow your emotions and desires to interfere with your duties.”

“I wouldn’t have let Ladybug get hurt! I only refused to Cataclysm the shield because I knew she wasn’t in any real danger and she could’ve done it herself – I wanted her to know how I felt –”

“She _does_ know how you feel. And she’s told you many times that she does not feel the same way. Your refusal to accept this is extremely disrespectful to the girl you claim to love. When even an akuma sides with Ladybug, that should have been your first clue that you were in the wrong. And don’t get me started on how you abandoned your classmate simply to avoid facing the same treatment as her, when you had the means to help her even without directly confronting the threat. Such a cowardly act sickens me.”

“Master, _please_, don’t take away my freedom!” If Adrien had thought that getting on his knees to plead would have worked, he would have actually done it.

“Give me the ring.” Master Fu holds his hand out. “If you really believe that you should be trusted, show me that you can do the right thing and put that above your feelings. Show me that I was right to choose you on that first day. If you really do love Ladybug, you will do what is best for her.”

Adrien’s fingers close around his ring and he once more glances down at Plagg. “Aren’t you gonna say anything?”

“I believed in you, kid,” Plagg says softly. “I thought this would be a good way to help you learn how to stand up for yourself. If Master Fu reckons you need to give the ring back, I’m with him.”

Adrien’s stomach drops. “Please – I’m begging you –”

“Adrien. Now.”

The urge to transform and run is tempting. Oh, it’s so tempting. But if he does that…he’ll prove Master Fu right, won’t he? He’ll be putting himself first. And he loves Ladybug, he really does, so if she really doesn’t trust him anymore…he has to do the right thing by his lady. He has to prove that she can trust him to do what’s best for her. And besides, it’s not like Master Fu doesn’t know who he is. Running would achieve absolutely nothing. Chloé had tried that as Queen Bee and look where that had gotten her: akumatised into Queen Wasp. And if Chat Noir was akumatised…no way. He’s not going to put that burden on Ladybug. He’s not going to force her to defeat her partner, especially with how much stronger he’d be akumatised. Queen Wasp had been bad enough.

“Thanks for everything, Plagg.” Adrien’s voice cracks. Plagg gives him a sad little smile.

“You’re a good kid, Adrien,” he says. “You just got a few things to learn.”

“Plagg is correct,” Master Fu says. “Not being suited for the role of Chat Noir does not make you a bad person.”

“It sure feels like it,” Adrien mumbles.

“If you were a bad person, you never would have been chosen in the first place,” Master Fu says. Adrien just shrugs, then takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and twists the ring off his finger. When he opens his eyes, Plagg has vanished.

“I’m sorry,” Adrien whispers, both to Master Fu and to Plagg. He holds the ring out, although it takes him a moment to force his numb fingers to open and drop it into Master Fu’s waiting hand. Master Fu gives him a sad little smile.

“Thank you, Adrien,” he says. “And good luck.”

* * *

“I’m late! I’m late!” Marinette babbles as she barrels through the streets of Paris towards the school. Why does this always happen? Every single morning! But today is different. When she arrives at school, the first thing she sees is a figure with a familiar mop of blond hair hunched over on the school steps, hugging his knees to his chest.

Adrien? But what’s wrong with him? Marinette’s never seen him quite so…devastated. Even though she’s still officially annoyed at him over yesterday, she approaches him carefully, like he’s a wild animal that will spook if she makes one wrong move. He doesn’t even look up when she sits down next to him with controlled movements and tilts her head at him.

“What’s wrong?” she says softly. “Did something happen at home?” Huh. She got a full sentence out to him. It must have something to do with the fact that, after yesterday, being near him no longer sets butterflies off in her stomach and makes her veins sing with warmth.

For a moment, Adrien says nothing. But then he looks up and meets her gaze, and her stomach lurches at the sight of the red-rimmed whites of his normally beautiful green eyes. Has he been _crying_? What the hell happened? And speaking of butterflies, is that a speck of purple that Marinette can see in her peripheral vision? Shit.

“I s’pose it doesn’t matter if I tell you now,” Adrien says hoarsely. “Since it’s never gonna be me again anyway.”

“Um…what?”

With a twisted smile, Adrien holds up his hand. Huh. That’s odd. The silver ring he’s always worn isn’t there anymo – wait…

“I’m Chat Noir,” he says. “Well, _was_. After yesterday, I’m apparently unfit to wield the Miraculous.”

Whoa. Okay. Hold up. Adrien? Was? Chat? Noir? Since when?

Oh, god. That means that Marinette was rejecting Adrien…for himself.

But…considering how he’d acted yesterday…maybe that was a good thing?

What the heck is Marinette supposed to think?

“Surprising, right?” Adrien says with a dark laugh when Marinette doesn’t say anything. Thank god he has no idea of the real reason behind her speechless shock.

“Um…yeah!” Marinette says in a high-pitched voice. Whoa. So, all those times she’d interacted with Chat Noir as herself, she’d been interacting with _Adrien_? And all those times she’d been annoyed at Chat Noir for not turning up while she had Adrien with her! And he’s been in love with her without realising, just like she’d liked him without even knowing it! What kind of love square crap was that? “Uh…but why are you unfit to be Chat?”

With a sigh, Adrien launches into a retelling of yesterday’s akuma attack. Although his tone is as bitter as one would expect from someone who’d had their magic object confiscated, Marinette is mildly surprised that he never once tries to blame Ladybug for it. Huh. Maybe Master Fu had gotten through to him.

Oh, no. She hadn’t meant for Adrien to lose his ring!

_“I saw and heard the entire thing,” Master Fu said when Ladybug showed up after refuelling to retrieve the Fox Miraculous from Chloé. Next to him, Chloé had her arms crossed, mirroring Trixx, who was floating next to her. “And Chloé confirmed what happened. Tell me the truth, Ladybug. Did you mean everything you said up there?”_

_“I – uh – yeah…” Ladybug admitted. “I could’ve said it a bit nicer, but I meant what I said.”_

_“Bullshit,” Chloé said. “He didn’t listen to you and kept blabbing about destiny or whatever. You didn’t owe him a shred of niceness, Ladybug.”_

_“Chloé is right,” Master Fu said. He sighed, and the heavy lines creasing his face made him look every bit as old as he really was. “The Ladybug and Black Cat are each other’s balance, but that does not mean that they are destined to be together. It just means that they need to be able to work so well together that they are two halves of a whole. Nothing about that must be romantic. They don’t even have to like each other, so long as they can work well together professionally and not overstep the other’s boundaries.”_

_“I remember Safiye and Bekir,” Trixx grinned. “They _hated_ each other, but damn if they weren’t a terrifying team. There was one time when someone slammed Bekir into the ground and Safiye nearly gutted them like a fish while screaming the foulest things in Persian –”_

_“I will deal with Chat Noir appropriately,” Master Fu said. Trixx scowled at him for interrupting their story._

“I never would’ve let Ladybug get hurt,” Adrien says. “I swear. If she’d been in any actual danger, I would’ve Cataclysmed the shield before she could even blink. But after our argument and what Vixen did with the illusion of you…I was hurt. Really hurt. I just wanted her to know that.”

“Well, it sounds like this isn’t the first time you’ve done this kind of thing in the middle of a battle.” Marinette racks her brains to choose her words carefully so that she gives no indication to Adrien that she’s Ladybug. “I don’t think Ladybug would have been thinking about how hurt you were. She would’ve been focusing on the mission, right? So, to her, you not destroying the shield would’ve looked like you were abandoning her when you should’ve had her back.”

“I realise that _now_,” Adrien says. “Maybe Mas – the Guardian was right.” With a bitter laugh, he adds, “I nearly gave up, you know? During Syren. I was gonna take my ring off because Ladybug knew things and I was jealous and felt like she didn’t trust me. The only reason I didn’t was because Plagg – he’s the Black Cat kwami – he told me that he wanted me as a holder. That he liked me.”

“You nearly _what_?” Marinette’s eyes bulge. “Adrien, Plagg shouldn’t have had to make it personal for you to see that you were wrong! Chat Noir was your _duty_! Especially when people were _drowning_!”

“I know that now!” Adrien shouts. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs when Marinette reflexively jumps. “Sorry. I’m – I didn’t mean to scare you. I just…you know what my home life is like, Marinette. You know how much I hate being chained up. Chat Noir was my _freedom_. I guess…I just let that go too far and I let Ladybug down.”

“From what I’ve seen, she really does love you,” Marinette says gently. “Maybe not romantically, but she’s always cared a lot for you.”

“I just wish I could’ve seen that before I lost my ring,” Adrien says gloomily.

“But why did you keep pushing like you did? Surely you could’ve seen how inappropriate it was?”

“Father’s always taught me to go after what I want. To do whatever it takes. I thought if I stuck at it long enough, she’d eventually want me. I didn’t think it was _inappropriate_…”

“Right, and the way Lila hangs off you is appropriate? The way everyone follows you around and invades your personal space just because you’re famous is appropriate? If I grabbed your arm and kissed you and touched your hair and demanded that you like me because I was in love with you, that would be appropriate?”

The way Adrien’s eyes widen in horror indicates that no, he’d never thought of his actions towards Ladybug in that way before; that he’d never equated his treatment of Ladybug with everyone else’s treatment of him just because they were famous and desirable. With a soft smile, Marinette reaches out and waits until he makes the move to accept before she squeezes his hand.

“Just so you know, I did…you know, have a massive crush on you,” she says. “You kind of crushed that crush yesterday, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still like you. Being boyfriend and girlfriend wouldn’t make our relationship any stronger. Just a bit different to a friendship. That’s something I’ve had to realise too.”

“You had a crush on me?” Adrien sags. “Oh, thank god. I just thought that you never liked me, and you were only putting up with me because I was your classmate and I was friends with Nino.”

“Try the exact opposite,” Marinette laughs. “Look, I’m not perfect either. I _was_ jealous of Lila when she first got here because she was hanging off you. But then I saw her take your book, and I followed you to the park and saw her pretend to be Volpina.”

“And then Ladybug came in and confronted her. I always wondered why you were so insistent that Lila was lying when you’d barely spoken to her.” With a rueful smile, Adrien says, “I’m so sorry, Marinette. I should’ve had your back. Even if I couldn’t stand up to Lila directly, I should’ve done literally anything else – gathered evidence, told Alya and Nino…Alya and Chloé were right to yell at me yesterday.”

“That’s honestly what bothered me when you told me to just wait for her to get caught in her own lies,” Marinette says. “If you’d been helping me get evidence so that we could get her when she slipped up and couldn’t lie her way out, I would’ve agreed with you. Even if you’d just gotten Alya and Nino on my side. It hurt that you let Lila lie to them when they were supposed to be your friends.”

“I just wish it hadn’t taken me losing the ring to realise. And…I hope the next Chat Noir is someone that Ladybug deserves.”

“You _did_ make a good Chat Noir,” Marinette says, hoping to soften the blow, not that she’d lie about something like this. “When you weren’t distracted, you and Ladybug were an unstoppable team.”

It’s weak, but Adrien manages to give her a smile and then he stands up and pulls her to her feet so that they can get to class, even though they’re so totally late by this point that it’s not even funny. Before Marinette can start walking, her nostrils are invaded by Adrien’s scent as he throws his arms around her and squeezes her to within an inch of her life. With a choked laugh, she hugs him and awkwardly pats his back.

“Thanks, Marinette,” Adrien says into the crook of her neck. His breath ghosts across her skin and makes her shiver violently, though not in a “please jump my bones” way anymore. “You’re a great friend.”

“Happy to help!” Marinette wheezes. Adrien releases her with a quick apology, and when he reaches for her hand as they set off for class, she lets him. The physical comfort seems to be going a long way towards helping him, and he’s still one of her dear friends, no matter how much he’d messed up lately.

“Who knows? Maybe Ladybug will pick me as a temporary hero, now that she’s shuffling around Miraculouses,” Adrien jokes when they descend the stairs into the school grounds. “Not that I expect her to, but it _would_ be pretty cool.”

“Wait, Ladybug’s shuffling the Miraculouses around?” Marinette gasps, praying that she doesn’t overdo it. “That explains Vixen! Which Miraculous do you think she’ll give Rena Rouge?”

The purple-black thing has disappeared from the corner of Marinette’s eye, and she breathes a sigh of relief. Thank god her plan worked. As horrible as his behaviour had been yesterday, there’s no way Adrien deserves to be akumatised. And just who will Master Fu pick to replace him as the Black Cat?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> I have a few things to address from FFN reviews, which I’ll do at the end so that I don’t clog your screen up with long notes. And it took a week to write only because I’ve been swallowed by stress this week, thanks to the two university projects I have to work on.
> 
> Also, I relabelled this as platonic Chlonette because after a week of thinking, I realised that there’s not really any room in this fic for a pairing. Unlike in my other short fics like Little Devil, I didn’t have the prior ship development in canon to fall back on here, and taking a step back from the fic let me realise that. I suppose that's what I get for taking on the challenge of posting as I write XD
> 
> Thanks to TsukiyoSaiai, MelicMusicMagic, Vitaliciouscreations, GodOfWolves, Mystifiedgal, Fancy_fiction, Anon cause I don't care, CaptainRose, BigFan, Kraziekat, LovedCompany, phantombullets240, KnightOwl247, redbird691, Laulink, paul, aDejectedTipewriter, xalkyriie, Lionqueen, Palvin_of_the_alvins and A_Weird_Pancake for your comments :)

“But I didn’t want him to lose his ring!” Marinette protests once she’s swallowed her mouthful of tea. It’s been a week since that fateful battle, but between her schoolwork, Kitty Section designing, and Ladybug duties, she hasn’t been able to spare the time to visit Master Fu and talk about the retirement of Chat Noir.

“I’ve made many mistakes in my lifetime, Marinette,” Master Fu says. “After the fall of the Guardians…I would rather make the mistake of taking the ring than make the mistake of leaving it in the hands of someone not responsible enough to wield it.”

“He wasn’t a bad partner.” Why is Marinette so staunchly against this? Maybe it’s because, as annoying as Chat Noir could be, he was her partner. The guy she could trust to have her back. The guy who could be sweet and funny and cheer her up when her skies were grey. “And it’s not like I’m perfect either.”

“You consistently prioritise the mission above all else,” Master Fu says. “Adrien prioritised his feelings. He may have been a good partner, but I couldn’t in good conscience allow you to have a partner who would refuse to help during a battle simply because of hurt feelings. Headstrong and stubborn are good traits for a Black Cat, Marinette, but not when that person allows those traits to overpower their sense of duty.”

“I guess…” Marinette’s shoulders slump. “I suppose I just…feel really bad for Adrien. Chat Noir was his freedom. Now he’s trapped in that mansion with his father…”

“Or maybe he will take what he’s learned from Chat Noir and apply that to his ordinary life,” Master Fu counters. “That was my hope when I gave him the ring. And just because he wasn’t ready for the responsibility of the Black Cat doesn’t mean that he can never wield a Miraculous again.”

The thought of one day entrusting Adrien with a Miraculous, when he’s ready, is enough to bring a tiny smile to Marinette’s face. “So, do you know who you’ll choose as the next Black Cat, Master? Or will you put the ring back away?”

“I can’t put it away,” Master Fu says. “The Ladybug and Black Cat are balance. When one is in use, the other must also be active, or the balance of the universe will be disrupted. Too much creation can be just as harmful as too much destruction. And as for who the next Black Cat will be…well, I’ve been keeping my eye on one person for the past week. If they don’t turn out to be a good fit, I’ll have to entrust you with the decision.”

“M-Me?” Marinette chokes on her tea. With streaming eyes, she splutters, “But we can’t know each other’s identities! That’s the rule!”

“I would rather you know your partner’s identity than for you to have a partner that you can’t implicitly trust,” Master Fu says firmly. “If it comes down to you picking your own partner, so be it. But I have hope that this person will be right for the job. They already have the ability to put their duties above their personal problems.”

* * *

“Focus, Kagami!” The point of Tomoe Tsurugi’s foil jabs Kagami in the upper arm with a sharp sting.

“Apologies, Mother.” Kagami shoots one more look over her shoulder before assuming the proper stance and waiting for her mother to start the next bout. Is she just going crazy? She could’ve sworn that someone had been watching her, though she can’t see anyone around her, no matter how hard she looks.

This is the sixth day. If this feeling doesn’t let up, she’s going to grab her foil and go on a hunt herself –

“What is wrong with you?” Tomoe once again hits Kagami with her foil. “I’ve trained you better than to allow yourself to become distracted.”

“I’m sorry, Mother. I just can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching me.”

“Hmm. You shouldn’t allow an audience to distract you. Total focus!”

As if in response to her words, there’s an explosion from a few streets away. Tomoe immediately sheathes her foil to head back to the car, leaving Kagami to rush to grab her fencing bag to follow her mother.

But there’s a small problem with that plan. And that small problem turns out to be a small box – dark brown with red Chinese engravings – resting on top of Kagami’s bag. With a frown, she pokes it with her foil, but it doesn’t explode or do anything extraordinary, so she picks it up and snaps it open.

“What the –?” she gasps when blinding green light pours out of the box and condenses into a tiny black cat floating in the air before her. “What _are_ you?”

“Oh. You.” The little cat yawns and stretches. “You’ll do. Name’s Plagg, I’m a kwami, you’re the new Black Cat. Cataclysm’s your power. Claws out to transform, claws in to detransform. Got it?”

“No…?”

“Good. Hurry up, ‘cause Ladybug needs you.”

“Excuse me, but you haven’t explained why you’re here,” Kagami says. “The new Black Cat? What happened to Chat Noir? And why me?”

“He’s retired. And I thought you were picked ‘cause you can do the job instead of farting around and asking stupid questions.”

Another explosion rocks the ground under Kagami’s feet and nearly throws her on her face. Right. An akuma! Her questions can wait until later.

“I’ll prove that whoever chose me was right to do so,” Kagami says as she slides the ring onto her finger. “Plagg, claws out!”

Cold, destructive energy washes over her as she brushes a hand over her face, then throws her arms out to allow the green sparkles to course over her body and turn her clothes into shining black leather.

“Wow…” Kagami stares down at her new suit with wide eyes. But she’s only distracted for a few moments; the sight of the superhero outfit reminds her that yes, she now has an important job to do, and she needs to get her head in the game and focus on her duties.

* * *

“I’ll teach you to burn me, Pierre!” the flaming akuma shrieks. No, literally, she’s _flaming_.

“How the heck am I supposed to get close?” Ladybug gasps after ducking behind a car to escape Heartburn’s scorching attack. “Especially without Chat Noir?”

Of course, there’s no answer, since Tikki is currently powering her earrings. She yelps and rolls out from her shelter when Heartburn’s next flamethrower attack hits it and transforms it from a car into a roaring fireball in the blink of an eye. But Heartburn is so quick that Ladybug’s not able to dodge her next attack, so she’s forced to use her yo-yo to deflect the flames while praying for a miracle.

“You were akumatised over a man?” says a new voice. Ladybug’s not ashamed to admit that she nearly cries in relief at the sight of a dark-haired girl in a dark leather suit perched on a nearby street lamp because shit, how much longer could she have lasted? “He’s not worth being exploited by Hawkmoth.”

“I know he’s not worth it!” Heartburn bellows as the new girl gracefully leaps to the ground and lands in one of the few unscorched patches of the street. The akuma’s flames dim, just enough to give Ladybug a good look at her chalk-white face that’s mottled with ashy patches. “But he’s hurt me one time too many!”

Oh – _oh_! Ladybug’s gut churns at the realisation of what those charred patches are. “We can help you!” With her hands up in what she hopes is a pacifying gesture and not a threat, she approaches Heartburn. “You don’t need to accept Hawkmoth’s power to make things right!”

“And who the hell is gonna believe me?” Heartburn snarls. “Huh? He’s a fucking cop! I got _laughed_ at! People told me that I’d leave if it was really that serious but they – don’t – _know_!”

“And I’m a superhero,” Ladybug counters. “They’ll believe _me_.”

For a heart-stopping moment, Heartburn looks like she’s wavering. But then a purple butterfly mask appears over her face, and she screams and flares up again and stomps her foot to crack the street under her, sending rivers of molten rock streaming down the road too fast for Ladybug to dodge. Before Ladybug is burned to a crisp, someone scoops her up and bounds away, their breath almost deafening in her ears.

“You shouldn’t have let your guard down,” the new girl says when she deposits Ladybug on her feet on a nearby rooftop. Ladybug sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.

“I know,” she says. “I just…her story caught me off-guard and all I wanted to do was help her. I think I’ve just been off since Chat Noir was retired.”

The new girl’s stony face cracks ever so slightly. “I would never dream of replacing Chat Noir,” she says. “But I hope you can come to trust me in time.”

Now that she’s not in danger of being fried, Ladybug’s able to get a good look at the new girl. Her dark hair is cut in a short, messy bob, framing her pale face and the bright green cat eyes behind her black mask, and two fake black cat ears stick out of it just like with Chat Noir. She’s also wearing a tight black suit with a high green collar, elbow-length black gloves and knee-high black boots, with thin green lines running down the outside of her upper arm and down her sides and the outside of her thighs, ending around the top of her gloves and boots. Her “tail” is a thick strip of black and green material tied around her waist in a wide band and, unlike with Chat Noir, her baton is strapped across her back like a sword.

“Well, I can definitely trust you to have my back,” Ladybug says. “And…I hope I can trust you to be my friend eventually.”

New girl finally gives a small smile. “That would be wonderful. I’ve always admired you, Ladybug. My name is…Kuroneko.”

Kuroneko. Huh. Ladybug tests it out in her head before nodding. “Happy to have you on the team. Any idea what to do about Heartburn?”

Kuroneko frowns down at the destructive akuma, who’s reduced the street below to a pool of lava and is heading for the next one, screaming for Pierre. Thank god that there are no civilians around; Ladybug really doesn’t want to find out what burned flesh smells like today. Or any other day, really.

“The problem is that we can’t touch her or see much about her,” Kuroneko says. “We’d need to douse the flames somehow and make sure that she’s not on fire for long enough to find her akuma.”

Ladybug’s eyebrows rise. “You’re a natural at this,” she says, and Kuroneko smiles again and holds her head higher. “I think we’ll need some help to figure out how to douse her. Lucky Charm!”

“Is your power always so abstract?” Kuroneko says when a small red and black yin and yang pendant materialises. Ladybug frowns down at it, then laughs.

“You should’ve seen how I had to take down Backwarder,” she says. “I have to go and get help. Can you try and do damage control while I’m gone?”

Kuroneko pulls her staff from her back and smiles. This time, her smile is chilly and focused, devoid of emotion, and Ladybug realises in that moment that Master Fu may have chosen right and Kuroneko is someone she’d never, ever want to cross.

“Go, Ladybug,” Kuroneko says. “I’ll keep Heartburn busy.”

* * *

“How are you finding your new partner?” Master Fu says when Marinette barrels into his massage parlour. “Did I choose well?”

“I think you did,” Marinette says. “She’s quick to react and she’s got a talent for strategy. I definitely wouldn’t want to cross Kuroneko if I was an akuma. I’ll still miss Chat Noir, though…”

“That’s natural,” Master Fu says. “You two formed a deep bond. But it’s far more important that you can trust your partner not to allow their personal problems to negatively impact their duties. Consistently,” he adds before Marinette can once again point out that she’s not perfect either. “Now, I believe you need help.”

When the box is placed before her, Marinette bites her lip. Who to pick? She needs someone to immobilise Heartburn, so the Bee is a natural choice. The Fox and Turtle could also help with distracting Heartburn and protecting them in a pinch. But it’s not enough…there’s something niggling at Marinette’s gut, pushing her, whispering that she needs one more, one that’s never been used before but can help douse Heartburn…

But is Adrien ready for this? Marinette pauses with her hand hovering above the choker of the Dragon Miraculous. Could this benefit him? Or would throwing him back into battle so soon alongside his old Miraculous be detrimental to him?

“Trust yourself, Marinette,” Tikki urges.

“But he had his Miraculous taken for a reason,” Marinette argues. Her protest is weak because it’s not like she _wants_ to exclude him…but she needs to think of the mission first…

“Remember what I told you yesterday?” Master Fu says. “Adrien may not have yet been ready for the responsibility of a full-time Miraculous, but that doesn’t mean he’s unfit to wield one at all. It’s not the first time Miraculouses have changed hands. And making him a temporary hero without the constant escape of Chat Noir may prove to be the balance between his life and duties that he needs.”

“Besides, if it’s not right, you don’t have to give it back to him,” Tikki adds. “They’re temporary heroes for a reason. Remember Chloé? She does far better now as Vixen than as Queen Bee. And Longg is a very serious kwami.”

Marinette’s shoulders slump. “You’re right,” she says, snatching up the Dragon to add to the Fox, Bee, and Turtle. “Let’s go and take down Heartburn!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two things I have to address:
> 
> 1\. Adrien was OOC: no, he wasn’t. This is the guy who threw a tantrum when people were literally drowning purely because he wasn’t being let in on some grand secret. This is the guy who asked for permission to kiss when mind-wiped, then promptly disrespected his crush’s feelings about said kiss when their memories came back and took it as a sign that his pushiness was the right track, despite getting himself and Ladybug hit by Oblivio because he was more concerned with flirting than doing his job and despite Ladybug telling him once again that they weren’t a thing. This is the guy who huffed in two akuma battles (Glaciator and Frozer) and literally ran off on his partner during Frozer because of his hurt feelings.
> 
> Adrien has never been able to put the mission ahead of his feelings. Marinette has slipped up, but she consistently compartmentalises her feelings to get the job done and then sorts her shit out afterwards. But Adrien’s consistent characterisation is that Chat Noir is fun and games for him; which isn’t to say that he doesn’t take his job seriously – he does in Heroes’ Day – but he tends to focus a lot more on the fun side of heroics than the serious side. So no, he wasn’t OOC to let his hurt feelings get in the way of the battle, and I never once bashed or hated on him. He simply faced the consequences for his actions and now he’s realised that he was in the wrong. Adrien is like someone I know in that both of them are so certain that they’re right that they can’t be told they’re wrong; they have to slip up and face consequences before they realise shit, I actually was in the wrong here. And just like that person, Adrien will now grow and change.
> 
> 2\. Marinette siding with the girl who bullied her: Chloé’s trying to change. She’s proven through her actions in this story that she’s trying, and she’s also proven that she takes her job seriously and understands that the mission comes first, especially after getting hit off-guard with her family on Heroes’ Day. I know I labelled this as Chlonette, but they’re not going to suddenly start making out; it’s more Marinette seeing the change in Chloé and realising that she’s grown to like the girl that Chloé has become. She’s not siding with the girl who’s bullied her; she’s siding with the girl who’s at least putting in the effort, rather than the guy who, as far as she knows, has made no effort to change.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> I don’t think I’ll go full salt like this again, but it was fun to experiment with and it’s why I love fanfiction so much. The final chapter of this fic should be out anywhere from a few hours to a few days from now, but it definitely won’t take two weeks like this chapter!
> 
> Thanks to CaptainRose, A_Weird_Pancake, TsukiyoSaiai, aDejectedTipewriter, Vitaliciouscreations, ZoeyTheWeeb, DeltaSpooks, KnightOwl247, GodOfWolves, MiraculousSilverWolf, Mynaneistrash and Mystifiedgal for your comments :)

Why is he so close to Heartburn? Maybe the sight of an akuma, with no way of protecting himself, has left him frozen to the spot. Or maybe it’s the sight of a black-haired girl leaping and dodging and attacking Heartburn with what used to be his suit and staff. What used to be his _role_.

“Look out!”

By the time Adrien realises that Heartburn has spotted him behind the pole and is shooting a jet of scorching fire at him, it’s too late to dodge. But the new Black Cat is quicker; in a heartbeat, she’s scooped him up and is bounding up to the rooftop of a nearby building, out of reach of Heartburn’s flame attacks.

“What were you thinking?” the new hero demands when she sets him down. “Do you want to get your flesh melted off?”

“Sorry. Sorry…” Adrien scratches the back of his neck. “Just…sorry.”

The way the new hero is regarding him is…odd, like she knows him. But then again, everyone knows who Adrien Agreste is, unless they’ve been living under a rock.

“Stay up here,” she says. “_Away_ from Heartburn. I’m trying to limit her damage until Ladybug returns.”

“Wait.” Adrien grabs the new hero’s wrist before she can leap away. Her bright green cat eyes narrow at him. There are so many things he wants to say – a hundred things, a thousand things, all clamouring to escape his brain at once – but what eventually comes out is, “Be a better partner to Ladybug than I was, whoever you are? And…tell Plagg I’m sorry.”

New hero’s eyes widen, and she looks him up and down, as though this is the first time she’s ever seen him. Then her eyes set, and she nods. “My name is Kuroneko. Thank you, Adrien. And for what it’s worth, you were a good hero. I’m one of the people you’ve saved from akumatisation, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”

“I just kept putting myself and my feelings first.”

“That doesn’t make you a bad person.”

“It did make me a bad hero.”

“Only when you couldn’t prioritise the mission.” There’s a wild shriek from down on the street, and Kuroneko inhales sharply and then jumps back down to take on Heartburn again. When Adrien scrambles to the edge of the rooftop, a blur of orange catches his eye. It turns out to be Vixen, who’s using her flute to bat away Heartburn’s flames, until a familiar green hero jumps in front of her and catches Heartburn’s next attack on his shield.

“Nice job, not-Rena Rouge,” Carapace quips.

“Do you want me to hit you with this stick?” Vixen growls, kicking Carapace away from the river of molten rock that Heartburn sends after them. The acrid smell of freshly remelted bitumen invades Adrien’s nostrils, causing him to bite back a gag, and wow, it’s so different to experience the brutality of an akuma attack without a magic mask to protect his senses and identity.

“Children, children,” scolds a new hero – a Bee hero. In contrast to pale, blonde, blue-eyed Queen Bee, this new hero’s brown skin stands out brilliantly against her bright yellow and black suit, and her yellow-streaked brown hair is pulled back in a bushy braid, with a sharp tip like a bee’s stinger. Her torso and thighs are yellow with jagged black stripes, like a bee’s body, and her upper chest and arms are pure black, ending at her elbow-length yellow gloves with black fingers. She also has knee-high black boots and a mask that’s yellow at the top and black at the bottom, and her trompo is slung around her waist very much like Ladybug’s yo-yo.

“Ah. You must be Queen Bee’s replacement,” Vixen says. “I wonder how you’ll compare to Chloé Bourgeois.”

“Unlike Chloé, I’ve got enough sense to not broadcast my identity to the world,” the new Bee shoots back immediately. “I’m Buzzkill.”

“If you’re quite done with the introductions?” Kuroneko snaps after whacking Heartburn across the head with her baton.

“Where the heck is Ladybug?” Vixen says.

“Said she had one more person to grab,” Buzzkill replies and deflects an attack from Heartburn with her trompo. “Man, at least a flute is straightforward.”

“Not as easy as Chloé made it look, huh?” Vixen says smugly.

“Adrien?” says a voice from behind him. Adrien, who’s been utterly engrossed in the battle below, jumps and would have slipped off the rooftop if not for a red arm shooting out to grab him.

“Ladybug!” he gasps. “You scared me!”

“Sorry.” Ladybug gives him a little smile. But there’s more behind her apology than just for scaring him and judging by the way her bluebell eyes have darkened as they look him up and down, she knows it as well as he does.

“I’m sorry, Ladybug,” Adrien says. “I wouldn’t have done it if you’d been in any real danger from Défenseure…but that’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have even let it get to that point.”

“You can’t help your emotions,” Ladybug says.

“But I can help letting them get in the way of doing my job,” Adrien argues. “I could’ve talked to you about it afterwards. And I didn’t just let you down…I also let Alya down. She was the one who was akumatised. But Marinette…I talked to her the other day. And she helped me realise, well…I’m so sorry, Ladybug. I never realised how inappropriate I was being to you.”

“Well, you realise now,” Ladybug says with that little smile of hers that sends jitters up Adrien’s spine. “And that’s why I’m here.” She fishes a familiar little brown box out of her yo-yo and holds it out to Adrien, whose lungs have suddenly turned to iron and refuse to budge an inch. “Adrien Agreste, here is the Miraculous of the Dragon, which grants you the power over water, wind, and lightning. You will use it for the greater good.”

“Are you serious?” Adrien whispers. Ladybug smiles and nods, so he reaches out with a shaking hand and accepts the box from her. He snaps the box open and is greeted with brilliant red light that makes him hiss and instinctively shield his eyes with his arm. When the light fades, he’s left with a black choker with a red bead inside the box and a little red dragon kwami hovering before him.

“Greetings, young gentleman, and good day to you!” the kwami says, bowing his head. “I am Longg, the dragon kwami!”

“Once the mission is complete, you will return the Miraculous to me,” Ladybug says. “Can I trust you to have our backs, Adrien?”

“Definitely!” Adrien says straight away and slips the choker around his neck. “I won’t disappoint you, Ladybug, I promise.”

“Then simply say, “Longg, bring the storm”,” Longg says.

“Longg, bring the storm!” Adrien cries. The red light that washes over him crackles like a spark of lightning, bringing a fresh, damp breeze with it, and it’s so much unlike the cold power of Chat Noir’s transformation that for a moment after the light fades, Adrien has to take a moment to blink and reorient himself.

“Whoa,” he says. “That was…whoa.” His suit is dark red with a golden dragon’s tail behind him and gold-trimmed black gloves and boots. When he lifts his arm and catches sight of the glittering golden scales on the outside of it, along with the golden dragon head curving over his left shoulder and resting above his heart, he realises that there’s a massive dragon stretching over his back underneath the sword sheathed there and _holy shit_, this is so cool! The cherry on top is the eye of the dragon: it’s a black circle divided into thirds, with a lightning bolt, water drop, and gust of wind.

“I’ll need your water transformation to help douse Heartburn,” Ladybug says. “But first, we have to grab everyone else and figure out the plan. Regroup!” she bellows at the street below. The other four heroes look up at her and nod, then leap over a magma river and scatter down side streets and around corners.

“You’ll figure out what to do,” Adrien says as he and Ladybug jump down off the rooftop and onto an untouched street. “You always do.”

“It wasn’t just me,” Ladybug says. “We always won through teamwork, even when you jumped in front of the akumas to protect me. Hawkmoth doesn’t understand the power of teamwork.”

“About time,” Vixen scoffs when Ladybug and Adrien duck into an alleyway to meet the rest of the team.

“Excuse me, but us foxes drink our respecting Ladybug juice,” Buzzkill says, crossing her arms. Adrien blinks at her.

“Rena Rouge?”

“Not anymore,” Buzzkill says. “And as much as I miss bashing enemies with the flute, I gotta admit that I love being able to sting someone. So much more straightforward.”

Vixen’s smile is particularly smug, but Adrien can’t possibly figure out why.

“Enough,” Kuroneko says. “Ladybug, what’s the plan? And who is this hero?”

Everyone’s eyes swivel to Adrien, who gulps. Wow. Is this how the newbies felt?

“I’m, uh…Scarlet Storm.” He blurts out the first name that occurs to him. “Yeah! Scarlet Storm.”

“Hmph,” Vixen says. “Not as cool as Vixen.”

“Or Buzzkill,” Buzzkill says. Vixen scoffs.

“Please.”

“Guys,” Ladybug chides. “Scarlet Storm will be able to douse Heartburn with his water dragon transformation so we can find the akuma, but we need to be able to stop her from fighting back and steaming him out. Lucky Charm!”

A massive ladybug-patterned blanket falls into her arms. After a moment, her eyes light up in her familiar eureka way.

“A fire blanket! Okay, here’s the plan…”

Once Ladybug’s filled them in, the team of six bound back up to the rooftops to regain sight of Heartburn. She’s being confronted by the police, with Roger Raincomprix out in front holding his megaphone, but presenting an akuma who’s pissed at the cops with a whole group of cops is like pouring a whole tankard of fuel on a raging forest fire. Scarlet Storm can’t say he blames her, considering her bellowed reasoning for being akumatised, but he also can’t just stand aside and let people get barbequed right in front of him. Miraculous Ladybug doesn’t erase memories, for victims of akumas and watching bystanders alike.

“Get them out of the way!” Ladybug cries, yanking Roger out of the way with her yo-yo before Heartburn can smoke him. Carapace provides shelter with his shield to allow Scarlet Storm, Kuroneko, Buzzkill, and Vixen to save the rest of the officers and duck around a corner. Now that they’ve got a clear battlefield, they can put their plan into action.

“Mirage!” Vixen plays a short tune on her flute to summon illusions of the six of them and direct the illusions out onto the street.

“Heartburn!” illusion Ladybug says. “You don’t have to do this!”

“Oh, stow your holier-than-thou attitude and give me your Miraculouses already!” Heartburn shoots flames at the illusion heroes, who leap out of the way to avoid being hit. While Vixen keeps Heartburn occupied, the other five edge around behind Heartburn, ready to strike.

“You ready, Buzzkill, Carapace?” Ladybug says. Carapace and Buzzkill nod. “Go!”

Before Heartburn can realise what’s going on, Ladybug swings out and throws the fire blanket around her, then gathers the ends and ties them in a knot. Heartburn howls and struggles but, although she can still easily shoot fire and melt the street underneath her, she can’t break free of the blanket keeping her arms pinned to her sides.

“I’ll boil you all from the inside out!” Heartburn bellows as Vixen’s illusions fade.

“Venom!” Buzzkill jabs her trompo into Heartburn’s arm, freezing her to the spot. Although Heartburn now can’t attack them, she’s also still a flaming mess of a person that no one can touch. Looks like it’s Scarlet Storm’s turn now.

“Cataclysm!” Kuroneko says, while Carapace summons his Shellter to encapsulate himself, Kuroneko, Scarlet Storm, and Heartburn. “Go, Scarlet Storm!”

“Water Dragon!” Scarlet Storm hefts his sword as he activates his power and the water symbol on his chest lights up. His body immediately liquefies, his bones vanishing, his skin and suit turning clear, and it’s so weird being a person but also being a pile of water, expanding and filling up the space inside Carapace’s Shellter. Now doused and submerged, Heartburn is a woman with singed black hair, chalk white skin mottled with grey charred patches, and a pitch-black wedding band on her left ring finger.

Kuroneko’s eyes have homed in on that same ring. With bulging cheeks as she holds her breath, she swipes her sparking hand across the ring and it crumbles into dust, releasing a black butterfly that flails madly in the water of Scarlet Storm’s transformation. He releases his hold on the water element just as Carapace’s Shellter drops, so he’s himself rather than spilling across the road as a jellified superhero.

“My god,” Carapace pants, gulping in large breaths of air, while Kuroneko grimaces and wrings out her sopping wet hair. Ladybug laughs as she captures and purifies the akuma, then retrieves the fire blanket to cast Miraculous Ladybug, which also extends to drying off Kuroneko and Carapace. Heartburn is swallowed by a purple-black mass, which then fades to leave behind a pale woman with long black hair and dark brown eyes.

“What am I doing here?” she says, blinking and staring around. Meanwhile, Ladybug turns to Scarlet Storm and the others as Vixen comes running up.

“Pound it!” the six of them cry, fist-bumping. Ladybug then kneels next to the woman and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“You were akumatised,” Ladybug says. “And we’d like to help you with your Pierre problem now that you’re back to normal if you want, Ms…”

The woman lets out a tired little laugh and accepts Ladybug’s helping hand. “Adeline. And thanks. But…no one’s going to believe you, even if you are superheroes. It’s my word against his. I appreciate the offer, but it’d probably just make things worse.”

“Why don’t you just leave?” Kuroneko says.

“And go where?” Adeline hugs herself and hunches forward. “I don’t have any money. I don’t have any friends. He’s all my daughter and I have.”

This is so wrong! There has to be something they can do! It’s not fair that an innocent person is hurt just because people won’t believe her when she’s telling the truth!

Scarlet Storm’s heart stops in his chest. Just like Marinette. He’d insisted that Lila wasn’t hurting anyone but…Marinette also had to suffer because people wouldn’t believe her. What if Alya and Chloé hadn’t overheard their conversation? Alya would still be convinced that Marinette was just jealous, wouldn’t she?

He has to do something. And if he can’t help as Scarlet Storm…then he’ll have to help as Adrien Agreste. While everyone’s focused on Adeline, he slips away and down into an alleyway, where no one can see him detransform.

“Longg, open sky!” he says, and Adrien Agreste appears where Scarlet Storm had been in a flash of red light. “I think I’ve got some Camembert in my pocket if you need to recharge. Habit from when I had Plagg and all.”

“But you must give the Miraculous back to Ladybug!” Longg says.

“And I will,” Adrien replies. “I just have something to do as me first, plus she’s occupied out there. Do you need to recharge?”

“Not unless there will be further need for me soon.”

Adrien nods and slips the choker off, and Longg vanishes as he slips the Miraculous into his shirt pocket, buttoning the pocket for good measure. Then he emerges from the alleyway and runs up to Adeline and the other five heroes.

“Adrien?” Ladybug says. “What are you doing?”

“I want to help,” Adrien says. “I heard everything.”

“Thanks,” Adeline says. “But I don’t want to tangle you up in this. You’re just a kid.”

“Even if you can’t get justice against Pierre, I still want to help,” Adrien says firmly. “Whatever you and your daughter need to get away is yours. Money, a place to live…just say it and I’ll help.”

“And I’ll provide you with the best legal help around.” Chloé saunters up to the group with her arms crossed. Huh. Where did Vixen go? Unless…Adrien narrows his eyes at Chloé suspiciously. “My daddy knows only the best.”

“That’s…awfully nice of you, Chloé,” Adrien says. Chloé sniffs and flips her ponytail.

“What can I say? Ladybug clearly knows what an awesome person I am, so I figure I’ll spread that awesomeness to everyone else.”

Buzzkill coughs loudly behind her hand. Adeline, on the other hand, bursts into tears, and Ladybug and Buzzkill are quick to rest their hands on her shoulders and babble reassurances.

“We need to go before we transform back,” Kuroneko says when her Miraculous beeps in sync with Ladybug’s, Buzzkill’s, and Carapace’s.

“Chloé and I will stay and help Adeline,” Adrien says.

“Yeah, we’ll talk to you later, Ladybug,” Chloé adds, giving Ladybug a significant look that Adrien doesn’t miss. Huh. Well, that solves the Queen Bee problem nicely if he’s right about that.

“Of course. I know where you both live,” Ladybug jokes. She winks at Adrien and Chloé, then yo-yos away with a, “Bug out!”, Carapace and Buzzkill following her. Kuroneko leaps in the opposite direction, scaling a building and then dropping out of sight.

“Jean-Beauregard, where are you?” Chloé snaps into her phone. “I need you here, like, yesterday.” She pauses. “Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up, will you?”

“What are you doing?” Adeline says as she wipes her eyes with her sleeves, accidentally smudging her mascara.

“Well, you’re staying at my hotel, of course,” Chloé says. “Until Adrien can sort something out. And we need to go get your daughter. Duh.”

Adeline starts crying again.

“You could be a little gentler about it,” Adrien says. Chloé snorts.

“Why? I’m being _nice_, aren’t I?” She grimaces. “Ugh, the things I do for Ladybug…"


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
> 
> Thanks to everyone for sticking with me on this wild ride!
> 
> Thanks to Animus_Melodiam and Vitaliciouscreations for your comments :)

“Pound it!” Ladybug fist-bumps Kuroneko, Scarlet Storm, and Buzzkill, while a young boy blinks up at them from the ground.

“Are you okay?” Kuroneko gives a strange, scary attempt at a smile that looks like she wants to devour the boy whole. But in the two weeks since Kuroneko’s debut, Ladybug’s come to realise that as tough as her new partner is, she really doesn’t seem to know how to interact with other people.

“F-Fine…” the boy mumbles, leaning away from her. Kuroneko’s smile fades, and she schools her expression back into stark professionalism.

“I can return him to his school while you retrieve the Miraculouses,” she says to Ladybug. Ladybug nods and swings off with Buzzkill and Scarlet Storm so that they can detransform around separate corners.

“I gotta say, I do miss Trixx,” Alya says once she’s transformed back from Buzzkill. “But I do like the new power. And it’s kinda cool to swing around like you do. Thanks, Pollen.”

“Of course, my queen,” Pollen says with a bow. She vanishes when Ladybug fits the Bee comb back into its box.

“I’d offer to give you a lift back to school but, well…” Ladybug gestures to her earrings. Alya just laughs.

“No sweat. I get it. Feel free to call next time you need my paralysing charm!”

Ladybug facepalms before heading off to retrieve Scarlet Storm’s Miraculous. He’s already turned back into Adrien and is saying goodbye to Longg when she arrives.

“Thanks again for the second chance, Ladybug,” Adrien says when he hands her the Dragon choker to put away.

“Thanks for proving that you deserve it,” Ladybug replies. She opens her mouth to say something else, but her earrings beep urgently, so she’s forced to wave goodbye to Adrien and swing off before her transformation runs out. Right. Now it’s time to get these Miraculouses back to Master Fu…and then rush back to school! Lunch is nearly over! She’ll be late for class!

* * *

“Yes, yes, whatever you think is best,” Chloé’s saying into her phone when Alya makes it back to school, panting so hard that she’s likely to rupture a lung. Chloé rolls her eyes when Alya skids to a halt next to her, but her attention is soon grabbed again by her phone. “Well, I don’t know, duh! That’s why I hired you, is it not? Just get it done! Tell Daddy to give you however much you need. Ugh, I might as well do your job yourself.” There’s a pause. “Yes, I know I’m not old enough or experienced enough. That’s _why I hired you_.”

“Didn’t know you were serious about that domestic violence thing,” Alya says when Chloé hangs up. Chloé huffs.

“Of course I was, Césaire. I couldn’t help Adeline and ignore everyone else. And besides, Ladybug called me an absolute genius when I told her my brilliant idea to get a shelter and resources made!”

“She just said that she was proud of how you were using your influence but sure, inflate that ego just a little more,” Alya drawls. “Not like it’s big enough to burst or anything.”

Chloé sticks her tongue out. It’s…weird being friends with Chloé Bourgeois. A year ago, Alya would’ve called it a fever dream if anyone had suggested that she’d even hold a polite conversation with Chloé, let alone be friends with her. But after the Défenseure incident? They at least can speak two words to each other without wanting to strangle the other.

“Hey, girls!” Adrien stops next to Alya and Chloé with Nino. “Chloé, how far along is Martine?”

“Ugh, she’s incompetent,” Chloé sighs. “But I suppose she hasn’t been totally useless. She’s got a meeting with Daddy today.”

“How’s Adeline?” Nino says. Chloé shrugs.

“As well as you’d think. I had to pay for a quality therapist as well as a lawyer. And her daughter got into my room yesterday and messed up my nail polish collection!”

Alya leans in with a smirk. “Aww, Chloé, just admit you like Fleur already.”

“You can pry that confession out of me over my cold, dead body.”

“Then why did you give her your number and buy her that new toy she wanted and treat her to a spa day?”

“Because I pitied her!” Chloé stamps her foot. “She’s so poor compared to moi that it’s sad, and she’s not lucky enough to have a daddy like mine!” But she’s fooling absolutely no one, and the scowl on her face shows that she knows it.

“Wanna get ice cream after school today?” Nino says to Alya. “Or do you have to babysit the terrible twosome?”

“No, I’m actually free for once,” Alya says. “I can do ice cream.”

_“Babe, I had to stick up for my bro! I didn’t think he’d lie to me about Lila!”_

_“I’m not even mad that you stuck up for him. I know he’s your best friend, Nino, and I can’t really judge when I got akumatised for Marinette. It’s the way you just…straight-up brushed me off and said that I had to be lying. You could’ve at least heard me out, especially when I went in to bat for Lila every time before that. It felt like you don’t trust me.”_

_“Are we over? I don’t wanna break up with you. I love you, Al.”_

_“I love you too, doofus. But I think we need a break from us for a few weeks. Between Lila and me getting akumatised and everything else…I need to figure my head out.”_

_“Yeah…that’s fair. I’m sorry, Alya.”_

_“I know.”_

“I’m not late!” A panting Marinette skids to a halt next to Alya just as the bell rings.

“No, but you’ll kill yourself one of these days if you don’t figure out how to get here on time,” Alya smirks. Marinette sticks her tongue out, just like Chloé had done before. “Come on, girl. I’ll piggy-back you to class if I have to.”

“I’ll piggy-back you too?” Nino says to Alya, who snorts and nudges him as they set off for class.

“You just wanna touch the butt, don’t you?”

“Okay, wow, I won’t be a gentleman if that’s the thanks I get, dude,” Nino huffs. Alya rolls her eyes before reaching out and grabbing his hand.

“You and I both know that I don’t like you for gentlemanly crap, Lahiffe.”

“Gag me,” Adrien and Chloé mumble at the same time. In response, Alya very maturely flips them off.

“Let’s get out of here before they start making out!” A giggling Marinette takes off running, followed by Adrien and Chloé. Alya and Nino just roll their eyes at each other and follow at a more sedate pace. There’ll be time enough for revenge on those three later. For now? Alya’s just going to take her time and enjoy the warm sunlight bathing her and Nino before they make it inside for class.


End file.
